tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-367630862024-03-28T12:24:58.676-04:00FLORIDA SPACErePORTA chronicle of developments in the space industry, updated daily.ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.comBlogger6035125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-20213146130680062882024-03-28T05:30:00.004-04:002024-03-28T12:24:24.173-04:00March 28, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Amish Patel Joins Sierra Space as
Chief Operating Officer </span>(Source: Sierra Space)<br>
Sierra Space announced the appointment of Amish Patel as Chief
Operating Officer. In his new role, Amish will oversee all aspects of
the company’s rapidly expanding production, facilities and supply chain
operations. In his new role, Amish will oversee all aspects of the
company’s operations, including purview over Sierra Space’s global
supply chain and manufacturing. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Saltzman Pushes Need for ‘Actionable’
Space Domain Awareness</span> (Source: Air and Space Forces)<br>
The Space Force is ramping up its investment in domain awareness to
stay ahead in the increasingly contested space environment, and Chief
of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman described the effort as
essential to his “Competitive Endurance” theory meant to guide the
entire service. Space domain awareness includes the monitoring of space
objects and activities, tracking environmental conditions, detecting
adversary operations, and ascribing intent to actions. That missions
has grown vastly more complex—Saltzman noted a 700 percent surge in
active satellites since 2008, with many of those satellites possessing
new technology and capabilities. That’s in addition to the increasing
possibility of collision and space debris. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Richard Branson Was Wrong About Space
Travel</span> (Source: Escape)<br>
Branson and three Virgin Galactic employees (no children, notably) flew
above the 50-mile mark that the US defines as outer space. (The rest of
the world defines it as 100km, or 62 miles, above the Earth’s surface,
but still. Minor details.) In doing so Branson became the first founder
of a space company to actually enter space. It was only for a few
minutes, and on a test flight, but victory was his. Fellow billionaire
Jeff Bezos blasted off nine days later, spending vast sums on second
place. Proving once again that billionaires are a deeply insecure
species.<br>
<br>
Yes, there’ve been many bold promises about how soon mere mortals will
be able to shoot for the stars – most notably from Branson, but also
from fellow billionaires Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Bezos (Blue Origin) –
but even their combined wealth and willpower hasn’t made it happen yet.
Commercial space tourism is unlikely to become a reality in my
lifetime. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Alaska Spaceport Has a New CEO</span>
(Source: KMXT)<br>
A retired U.S. Air Force Colonel is the new president and chief
executive officer of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, which oversees
Kodiak’s Pacific Spaceport Complex on Narrow Cape. John Oberst was
announced as the head of the state-owned corporation last month on Feb.
26. Oberst has 30 years of military service, during which he was mainly
stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Eielson Air
Force Base in Alaska. Most of his career has been tied to space in one
form or another, from Oberst’s first job building rockets, to his
newest role leading the spaceport. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">UArizona Crew of Professional Artists
Completes Simulated Moon Mission</span> (Source: UArizona)<br>
Dancer Elizabeth George and three other UArizona professional artists
served as crew members in a six-day simulated moon mission, called
Imagination 1. The goal was to explore the value of art in space
exploration and produce creative works inspired by the limitations and
possibilities of life and culture beyond Earth. The crew was led by
Christopher Cokinos, a nonfiction writer and professor emeritus of
English, and also included Julie Swarstad Johnson, a poet and Poetry
Center archivist and librarian, and Ivy Wahome, a textile artist and
Master of Fine Arts candidate in costume design.<br>
<br>
"All of the art forms that we brought with us into this technological
space are ultimately very human things," Johnson said. "That's
something I hope that we can convey to people as we think about any
kind of movement beyond Earth. As humans, we're always going to be
creating and thinking, and art can help us do that well." (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Company Building a Rotating
Detonation Engine is Pushing the Tech Forward </span>(Source: Ars
Technica)<br>
Venus Aerospace conducted its first powered flight last month, reaching
Mach 0.9 with a drone. The 8-foot-long vehicle was dropped from an Aero
L-29 Delfín aircraft at 12,000 feet and flew under the power of a
hydrogen peroxide monopropellant engine. This engine was not fired at
full thrust because the location of the test flight, an unspecified
range in the United States, did not permit flight faster than the speed
of sound, said Andrew Duggleby, co-founder and chief technology officer
of the Houston-based company.<br>
<br>
This first powered flight came as the company announced a long-duration
test firing of its rotating detonation rocket engine, an experimental
approach to propulsion that could be about 15 percent more efficient
than a conventional chemical rocket engine. The company's long-term
ambition is to develop a commercial aircraft that can travel at Mach
9—far faster than any previous airplane. That's clearly a ways off, but
these are important, if early, steps on that path.<br>
<br>
About three weeks ago the company announced it had completed a "long
duration" run of its engine, which uses a mode of propulsion different
from a chemical engine. In a traditional rocket engine, propellant and
an oxidizer are injected into a combustion chamber where they burn and
produce a tremendously energetic exhaust plume. A rotating detonation
engine differs in that a wave of detonation travels around a circular
channel. This is sustained by the injection of fuel and oxidizer and
produces a shockwave that travels outward at supersonic speed. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ESA Seeks Increased Cooperation with
India</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
ESA is studying options for increased cooperation with the Indian space
agency ISRO. At a briefing Wednesday after an ESA Council meeting,
agency officials said they received a presentation from the chairman of
ISRO, S. Somanath, at their meeting to get an update on Indian space
activities. ESA said the agency has been exploring options of enhanced
cooperation in science, exploration and operations since late 2022, but
has not disclosed any specific options under consideration. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Signs New Partners for Lunar
Base Program</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
China is signing new partners for a proposed international lunar base
but is struggling to find national-level support. China's Deep Space
Exploration Laboratory signed memoranda of understanding this month
with the Asociación de Astronomía de Colombia and Kyrgyzstan's Arabaev
Kyrgyz State University regarding potential cooperation on the
International Lunar Research Station. The agreements with organizations
and universities may reflect difficulties China is having getting
support from national governments, perhaps because of Russia's
involvement with the initiative. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mowry Departs Voyager, Joins Vast</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
One commercial space station company has hired a former executive from
another such company. Vast has hired Clay Mowry as an adviser to
provide guidance and counsel as it develops its Haven-1 commercial
station and future larger stations. Mowry was previously chief revenue
officer at Voyager Space, which is working on the Starlab commercial
space station, and earlier held positions at Blue Origin and
Arianespace. Separately, a former Vast employee filed suit in a
California court this week, alleging he was fired from the company last
year after raising concerns that the company was violating FCC
regulations for spectrum it plans to use for Haven-1. Vast denied the
claims and says it will fight the suit in court. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">JAXA’s SLIM Reactivates After One
Month of Dormancy</span> (Source: Japan Times)<br>
Japan's SLIM lunar lander continues to defy the odds. The lander has
survived a second lunar night and is transmitting data again, the
Japanese space agency JAXA announced Thursday. SLIM landed in January
and the solar-powered spacecraft was not designed to survive the lunar
night. However, SLIM revived in late Feburary and sent data for several
data before going back into hibernation for a second night. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SOHO Discovers 5000 Comets</span>
(Source: NASA)<br>
A mission designed to study the sun has now discovered 5,000 comets. An
amateur scientist studying images from the ESA-NASA Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) detected the milestone comet earlier
this week. SOHO launched in 1995 to study the sun, but it has also been
able to discover "sungrazer" comets that pass close to the sun that
cannot otherwise be seen. Such comets often do not survive their close
passages to the sun. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Event Horizon Telescope Provides New
View of Sagittarius A* Black Hole</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
Astronomers have obtained a new view of the supermassive back hole at
the center of our galaxy. The Event Horizon Telescope, a globe-spanning
network of observatories, created the image of the black hole called
Sagittarius A* in polarized light. That view shows magnetic field lines
around the black hole, about 4.3 million times the mass of the sun, and
reveals structures similar to the far larger black hole at the core of
the galaxy M87. Astronomers said the image of Sagittarius A* suggests
it may be ejecting a jet of material not previously seen, based on its
similarities to the black hole in M87. (3/28)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spire Global Announces Deal with South
Korea's HANCOM for Imaging Constellation</span> (Source: Spire)<br />
Spire Global announced an agreement with HANCOM InSpace, initially a
spin-off by Korea Aerospace Research Institute and now a part of HANCOM
Group, for Sejong-2 and Sejong-3 two additional satellites with Spire
Space Services. Under this agreement, Spire will build and operate the
satellites, expanding the capabilities of HANCOM-1 (Sejong-1).
Together, these satellites will form a constellation for Korea’s first
three-satellite remote sensing image data service. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Progress Continues on Europe’s Gateway
Space Station Contributions</span> (Source: European Spaceflight)<br />
ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander
shared images of the International Habitat (I-Hab) and Habitation and
Logistics Outpost (HALO) modules for NASA’s Gateway space station under
construction at the Thales Alenia Space facility in Italy. While the
pressurized module for HALO has the distinct shape of its final form,
I-HAB is still just multiple individual rings awaiting integration.
This is down to priority, with HALO expected to be launched well before
I-HAB in late 2025. I-HAB is only expected to begin its journey to
lunar orbit towards the end of 2028. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Angara-5 Set for First Launch in April</span>
(Source: Russian Space Web)<br />
After the cancellation of the Rus-M project in 2011, the Russian space
agency hatched plans to bring the Angara launch vehicle to Vostochny
instead. The launch facility would be built at the site originally eyed
for the Rus-M's dual pad. An Angara-5 rocket is now set to fly its
first mission from its new launch pad in Vostochny, as early as April
9. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AFWERX, SpaceWERX Launch Notice of
Opportunity for Space Applicable Technology Submissions</span> (Source:
Executive Gov)<br />
Department of the Air Force commercial investment arm AFWERX AFVentures
has released, on behalf of SpaceWERX, the program year 24.2 Strategic
Funding Increase — or STRATFI — and Tactical Funding Increase — or
TACFI — notice of opportunity for space technology submissions. STRATFI
provides between $3 million and $15 million in funding over 48 months
while TACFI provides between $375,000 and $1.9 million over 24 months.
The programs are open to Small Business Concerns with Phase II SBIR or
STTR contracts that have been running for at least 90 days or have been
completed within two years of submitting a capability package. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">University of Alaska Fairbanks Books
$139M NGA Contract for Geospatial Data, Products</span> (Source:
Executive Gov)<br />
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will procure geospatial
data and products from the University of Alaska Fairbanks using the
recently awarded $139 million Summit contract. NGA said the
indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract covers data and
product development, maintenance and delivery over a five-year period
of performance. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Locals Voice Opposition to Scottish
Spaceport</span> (Source: West Coast Today)<br />
The Outer Hebrides’ local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar,
proposed and unanimously approved ’Spaceport 1’ at Scolpaig Farm,
Balemartin, near MacLeod’s Folly, an octagonal Georgian tower built on
an Iron Age dun in Loch Scolpaig. The plan drew six supporters and 244
objections, including a petition of 1,300 signatures, arguing "one of
the wonders of the Western Isles ... should not be lost to irreversible
industrialisation". In a last ditch bid to block it last July, a
campaign group called Friends of Scolpaig urged the Scottish Government
to call it in for determination, but ministers chose not to intervene.
(3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Researchers Discover 125,000-Year-Old
Coastal Ecosystem Underneath Spaceport in Kourou</span> (Source:
Phys.org)<br />
In what is an intriguing mix of past and future, an international team
of researchers, including some from the University of Bonn, has
stumbled upon a surprising window to the past in Kourou in French
Guiana. In the clay underneath the new launch pad for the forthcoming
Ariane 6 launch vehicle, the interdisciplinary team has uncovered a
remarkable collection of fossils stretching back 130,000 years.<br />
<br />
Covering over 270 species in total, including bony fish, sharks and
numerous plants, they reflect the kind of climatic conditions that
calculations suggest are set to reoccur in the year 2100. These coastal
fossils are the first to have been unearthed in the equatorial
Atlantic. (3/26)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ESA to Build digital Chat Assistant
Powered by EO Data </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with technology
partners, is embarking on an ambitious project to develop artificial
intelligence (AI) applications designed to transform the way we
retrieve information from Earth observation data. This initiative aims
to create a digital assistant capable of producing scientifically
accurate responses based on verified data, answering complex questions
about environmental and geographical phenomena. (3/26)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">France's Pioneering Role in
Strengthening European Space Security </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
In the recent decade, the international landscape of space has
undergone significant transformations with over 90 countries
participating, commercial firms launching satellites regularly, and at
least 12 nations establishing military space organizations. Amidst this
global evolution, European countries, led by France, have intensified
their focus on space security, aligning with their national security
agendas. (3/26)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bipartisan Congressional Call to
Ensure Mars Sample Return a Success</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
A unified bipartisan effort led by Representatives Mike Garcia (CA-27),
Judy Chu (CA-28), and Adam Schiff (CA-30) has emerged, with a strongly
worded letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson demanding full funding
for the Mars Sample Return Program. The letter, endorsed by an
additional 20 Members of Congress from California, underscores the
mission's critical importance and calls for a minimum allocation of
$650 million to safeguard the mission's success and America's
leadership in space exploration. (3/26)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Comprehensive Space Infrastructure
Collaboration between SatSure, KaleidEO, and ReOrbit Unveiled</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br />
SatSure and its subsidiary KaleidEO have formalized a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Helsinki's ReOrbit, marking an important step
in developing advanced full-stack EO solutions. This collaboration is
set to revolutionize the EO market by meeting its future demands with a
comprehensive range of services. Under this alliance, KaleidEO will
contribute cutting-edge payload technologies for sub-meter imaging,
enhanced by AI analytics. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Texas Space Commission plans to
spend $350 million to keep industry booming in Lone Star State</span>
(Source: KTRK)<br />
From West Texas with Blue Origin to the Rio Grande Valley with SpaceX
and Houston with Johnson Space Center and the Spaceport, aerospace
reaches across Texas with nearly 2,000 companies. State leaders said
there are 150,000 Texans who work in the aerospace industry right now.
The number is expected to grow. In 2023, lawmakers approved creating
the state space commission. They plan to invest $350 million over the
next few years to help with education and company grants.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pieces of SpaceX's Starships are Being
Sold as Rare Collectibles</span> (Source: LMT Online)<br />
Following SpaceX's Starship rocket launches, people have wandered near
the launch site and discovered ceramic heat shield tiles. Rather than
toss them in the trash, people have taken the scraps, boasted them as
rare collectibles, and made them into high-value items on online
marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay. The popular trend has seen the
tiles go for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars. (3/27)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Luxembourg's Role in Shaping the
Future of Space Exploration</span> (Source: RTL)<br />
Luxembourg's aspirations in space exploration have transitioned from
mere ambition to tangible reality in recent years, as the Grand Duchy
has solidified its presence in the space resources sector. Driven by a
desire to diversify its economy, Luxembourg has attracted approximately
80 companies and start-ups to its space industry landscape. Employing
approximately 1,500 individuals, the space industry in Luxembourg
garners significant attention during Space Resources Week. (3/26)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why NASA Will Fire Three Rockets At
The Solar Eclipse From Virginia Spaceport</span> (Source: Forbes)<br />
NASA has announced it will fire three scientific sounding rockets into
the moon’s shadow on April 8 during a partial solar eclipse across
North America. NASA’s suborbital rockets will fly from Wallops Flight
Facility in Virginia. (3/26)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-44126337463442166712024-03-27T05:30:00.005-04:002024-03-27T10:30:01.861-04:00March 27, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Delta IV Heavy Rocket Carries
NROL-70 on Historic Mission</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
The last mission of the venerable Delta IV Heavy rocket, marked by the
launch of the NROL-70 security payload, is scheduled for March 28,
2024, at 1:40 PM EDT from SLC 37, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This event not only signifies the conclusion of the Delta Rocket
lineage but also celebrates its rich history of achievements and
innovations in space exploration. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Supports Reliable Robotics'
Autonomous Flight R&D</span> (Source: AIN Online)<br>
Reliable Robotics has secured new contracts from NASA and the
Department of Defense supporting the company's efforts to commercialize
remotely piloted aircraft. NASA, in partnership with Ohio University,
granted $6 million for autonomous flight technology research, while the
Air Force's AFWERX unit has included Reliable in a program potentially
offering up to $1.9 million in matched government funding. (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Musk Says 'Almost Anyone' Can Afford A
$100,000 Ticket To Mars — But 57% Of People Can't Cover A $1,000
Emergency</span> (Source: Benzinga)<br>
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has outlined an ambitious plan for enabling
affordable travel to Mars, potentially opening up space colonization to
a broader segment of Earth’s population. In a conversation with TED
conferences head Chris Anderson in 2022, Musk suggested that a ticket
to Mars could hypothetically be priced at $100,000, a figure he
believes would be accessible to most people.<br>
<br>
Musk’s statement has sparked debate regarding its realism and
sensitivity to economic disparities. With the average U.S. annual
salary in the fourth quarter of 2023 reported at $59,384 by the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and nearly two-thirds of Americans living
paycheck-to-paycheck, the feasibility of saving $100,000 for a Mars
trip seems distant for many. (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orbex Patents Reusability Tech</span>
(Source: Orbex)<br>
Orbex, the only UK owned orbital launch services and rocket
manufacturing company, has successfully patented its REFLIGHT reusable
rocket technology following patent approval in several European markets
as well as the United States. The technology is uniquely suited to
micro-launcher rockets like Orbex’s Prime rocket since it enables
recovery of the launch vehicle by repurposing existing structural
features, while adding very little additional weight to the vehicle. <br>
<br>
REFLIGHT enables reusability with very limited overall performance
penalty and no additional rocket propulsion emissions in the upper
atmosphere during re-entry. This should be compared to other reusable
launch systems using powered descent (rocket engine firings) to slow
down the vehicle during re-entry and landing. The REFLIGHT system
repurposes the interstage structure. After Stage 1 detaches from Stage
2, the interstage on top of Stage 1 reconfigures into four ‘petals’
which fold out and create drag forces that passively reorients and
slows the spent rocket stage’s descent to Earth for a low velocity
landing at sea. (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DIU Contracts Mission for Satellite
Servicing</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A mission next year will attempt to service a military satellite in
geostationary orbit. The mission, overseen by the Defense Innovation
Unit (DIU), will use the Mission Robotics Vehicle being developed by
Northrop Grumman's subsidiary SpaceLogistics. That spacecraft will
approach a military satellite and use robotic arms to install a camera
built by Katalyst Space Technologies on the satellite's launch adapter
ring. The mission is part of DIU's Modularity for Space Systems
project, an effort to match commercial technologies with military needs
for in-orbit services. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Launches Military Weather
Satellite</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
China launched another military weather satellite late Tuesday. A Long
March 6A rocket lifted off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center
at 6:51 p.m. Eastern and deployed the Yunhai-3 (02) satellite. The
Yunhai series are assessed to be military meteorological satellites by
some Western analysts. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">In-Orbit Wins AFWERX Spacecraft
Docking Contract</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Startup In Orbit Aerospace has won an AFWERX contract to develop
spacecraft docking technologies. The electrostatic adhesion technology
being developing under the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
contract, in cooperation with the University of Colorado, will enable
In Orbit's vehicles to dock with one another and could also be used for
docking with other cooperative or uncooperative objects for refueling,
debris removal or other services. In Orbit was founded in 2020 to offer
third-party logistics and infrastructure for in-space manufacturing and
research, and has plans to develop vehicles for transporting cargo to
and from future commercial space stations. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astrobotic Hires NASA Vets to Lead
Next Lunar Missions</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Astrobotic has hired several industry veterans to help the company as
it develops a second, larger lunar lander. The company announced it
hired Steve Clarke, a former NASA official, as its vice president of
landers and spacecraft and Frank Peri, former head of the safety and
mission assurance office at NASA Langley, as director of engineering.
Two former NASA associate administrators for space technology, Mike
Gazarik and Jim Reuter, will serve as advisers. Astrobotic says it
expects to wrap up the investigation into its Peregrine lander mission
in a matter of weeks and will apply lessons learned from that for its
larger Griffin lander, which will carry NASA's VIPER lunar rover. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Optimistic for Voyager 1 Fix</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
A NASA official was optimistic that a computer problem with the Voyager
1 spacecraft can be fixed. Speaking at a National Academies committee
meeting last week, Joseph Westlake, director of NASA's heliophysics
division, said he believed the project was on "a path now to
resolution" regarding the faulty flight data system (FDS) computer on
the nearly 50-year-old spacecraft. A problem with the FDS has caused
Voyager 1 to transmit unusable data since last November. Westlake said
engineers have concluded a memory unit on the spacecraft has failed,
and engineers are working to move flight software in that section of
memory to another part of the computer. He did not estimate how long
that would take. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NOAA Weather Satellite's Falcon-Heavy
Launch Moved to Late June</span> (Source: NOAA)<br>
The launch of a NOAA weather satellite has been rescheduled for late
June. NASA and NOAA announced Tuesday that the Falcon Heavy launch of
the GOES-U geostationary orbit weather satellite is planned for June
25. The launch had been scheduled for late April but was postponed
after SpaceX found a liquid oxygen leak in the rocket's center core
booster. GOES-U is the fourth and final satellite in the GOES-R
program. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Picks Instruments for Artemis
Lunar Landing, Including for Plant Growth </span>(Source: NASA)<br>
NASA has selected three instruments to be flown on future Artemis lunar
landing missions. NASA announced Tuesday it will fund development of a
seismometer suite, a crop growth experiment and regolith instrument
that would be deployed by astronauts on the Artemis 3 mission, although
NASA said that final decisions about when the instruments would be
manifested for flight will be made later. NASA said the instruments are
the first step in the agency's response to a report on high-priority
science that should be conducted on Artemis 3. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Japans Koichi Wakata Retiring From
Astronaut Corps</span> (Source: NHK)<br>
A Japanese astronaut is retiring after more than three decades of
service. Koichi Wakata will retire from JAXA at the end of the month,
which also marks the end of the current Japanese government fiscal
year. He was selected by Japan as an astronaut in 1992 and has flown to
space five times, including three long-duration missions to the
International Space Station. He most recently was on the Crew-5 Crew
Dragon mission in 2022-23; his previous flights were on the shuttle and
Soyuz. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Starliner’s First Commander: Don’t
Expect Perfection on Crew Test Flight</span> (Source: Ars Technica)<br>
While it doesn't have the same relevance to public consciousness as
safety problems with commercial airliners, a successful test flight of
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in May would be welcome news for the
beleaguered aerospace company. This will be the first time the
Starliner capsule flies into low-Earth orbit with humans aboard. NASA
astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are in the final stages of
training for the so-called Crew Flight Test (CFT), a milestone running
seven years behind the schedule Boeing said it could achieve when it
won a $4.2 billion commercial crew contract from NASA a decade ago.
(3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Blue Origin Space Station Taking Shape
for NASA</span> (Source: Business Insider)<br>
NASA has granted Blue Origin $172 million to create Orbital Reef, a
space station designed for astronauts and tourists, emphasizing the
necessity for life support systems. Blue Origin recently achieved
significant progress by completing four milestones, demonstrating the
effectiveness of Orbital Reef's regenerative system, which ensures the
provision of clean air and water for occupants. (3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidus Space Releases Quarterly
Financial Results</span> (Source: Sidus Space)<br>
Total revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 totaled
approximately $6.0 million, a decrease of $1.3 million compared to the
same period in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA loss for the twelve months ended
December 31, 2023 totaled $10.9 million as compared to a loss of $9.7
million for the same period the prior year. Net loss for the twelve
months ended December 31, 2023 was $14.3 million as compared to a net
loss of $12.8 million for the same period the prior year. (3/27)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Incoming Illegal NGSO Service Crackdown</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Operators of satellites in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) could be
forced to turn off beams when flying over countries that have not
authorized them, do more to disable bootleg dishes in these
territories, or a mix of both, depending on who you ask about new
global rules in the works. Approval to study ways for cracking down on
unauthorized NGSO services was one of the most surprising outcomes of
the recent 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) in Dubai,
a quadrennial event for updating radio wave regulations.<br>
<br>
Depending on the results of these studies, the measures could be put up
for approval as soon as 2027, when the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, will bring countries
together again to update global spectrum regulation. When a broadcast
satellite is being developed, international regulations require every
technical effort to be made to prevent its radio waves from spilling
into countries that have not approved the service.<br>
<br>
NGSO satellites currently do not have a similar limitation, making it
possible for users with a compatible antenna to connect to them in a
country that has not given their operator a license. Sources who
attended WRC-23, but did not want to be named, said the crackdown is
mainly targeted at SpaceX’s Starlink, the world’s largest NGSO
broadband constellation currently in operation. (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Chinese Moon Plans, Commercial Company
Updates, and Wenchang Commercial Pad</span> (Source: NSF)<br>
China detailed its lunar exploration plan for the near future and gave
an outlook for the program beyond that. The next mission to the Moon,
Queqiao-2, launched in March of this year. This mission, though, is
only the beginning of a set of missions for the Chinese lunar
exploration plan. Next up, the Chang’e-6 mission, a 53-day long
exploration mission, will launch in May of this year on a Chang Zheng 5
rocket. Click <a
href="https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/03/china-roundup-032324/">here</a>.
(3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">From Kepler-452b to Proxima Centauri
b: Exoplanets that are just like Earth</span> (Source: Times of India)<br>
Earth is the only planet we know of that harbors life, but it may not
be alone in the universe. Scientists have discovered thousands of
exoplanets, or planets orbiting other stars, and some of them are
remarkably similar to our home world. These exoplanets are of great
interest to astronomers and astrobiologists, who hope to find signs of
life beyond our solar system. Here are seven exoplanets that are just
like Earth, in terms of their size, composition, temperature, and
habitability. Click <a
href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/from-kepler-452b-to-proxima-centauri-b-exoplanets-that-are-just-like-earth/photostory/108752164.cms">here</a>.
(3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Missile Defense Agency Executive
Director Accused of Misusing Office for Personal Gain</span> (Source:
WAFF)<br>
The Department of Defense’s Inspector General has made its findings
public regarding the highest-ranking civilian in the Missile Defense
Agency. Inspector General Robert Storch found that Laura DeSimone, the
current Executive Director of MDA, violated a litany of business and
ethics norms. The 3- year investigation found she misused her office
for personal gain by engaging in an intimate, sexual relationship with
a subordinate based in Huntsville. That subordinate is another woman
the IG says she also tried to help promote. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Chinese Scientists Call for Focus on
Asteroid Missions</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
China should intensify its asteroid research and focus on sample return
mission plans, according to scientists. China’s future asteroid
exploration should focus on “low-cost, high-frequency sample return
missions, and emphasize strengthening coordination between missions,”
according to a paper published recently in the Chinese Journal of Space
Sciences. Establishing scientific design teams can also help better
serve China’s future asteroid explorations. (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">He Quit Heading the Pentagon’s UFO
Office. Now a Report of His Has Shaken Up Ufology</span> (Source:
Guardian)<br>
Evidence is not the point. Some will never be swayed. “There’s the
absolute true belief, which would suggest it is more akin to a religion
than an actual factual thing,” he says. “And those are the people that
you’re never going to convince, no matter what you put in front of
them. I can lay out the pictures of the classified programs that they
mistook, and they still wouldn’t believe it. They would say, ‘No, that
was derived from alien technology.’”<br>
<br>
And what if the government does eventually get its hands on aliens and
their flying saucers? “It’s not their job [to keep it secret],” he
says. “It would immediately get turned over to Nasa, and Nasa would
immediately disclose it to everybody. That’s their job.” Click <a
href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/22/ufologists-sean-kirkpatrick-pentagon-report-uaps">here</a>.
(3/22) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Engineers Heat Up Dark Universe
Telescope, Restoring Euclid's Sight</span> (Source: Gizmodo)<br>
ESA's Euclid telescope is back in action after an experimental
procedure restored its ability to see the light in the cold, dark
depths of space. After noticing a gradual dip in the amount of light
measured by Euclid from its surrounding stars, the team behind the
mission devised a plan to heat parts of the spacecraft to get rid of
frozen water molecules that had accumulated on the telescope’s mirrors.
The plan was risky and not guaranteed to work, but things are looking
good for Euclid so far.<br>
<br>
Mission control de-iced the first two mirrors and, sure enough, more
light began creeping in through Euclid’s optical instruments. Euclid’s
coldest mirror was heated from -232 to -171 degrees Fahrenheit (-147 to
-113 Celsius). “It didn’t need to get hot, because in a vacuum this
temperature is enough to quickly evaporate all the ice,” said Mischa
Schirmer. “And it worked like a charm! Almost immediately, we were
receiving 15% more light from the Universe. I was certain that we would
see a considerable improvement, but not in such a spectacular way.”
(3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Wants to Orbit Cellular
Starlink Satellites Closer to Earth</span> (Source: PC Magazine)<br>
SpaceX is pressing the FCC for even more clearance to orbit Starlink
satellites closer to Earth, citing the performance benefits. A month
ago, the company requested FCC clearance to orbit some
second-generation Starlink satellites between 340 to 360 kilometers
from Earth — or about 200 kilometers (124 miles) below their planned
orbits. On Friday, SpaceX filed the same request, but for its cellular
Starlink satellite system, which will be able to beam connectivity to
phones on the ground. If granted, the company would then be able to
orbit the satellites at the 300km orbits, in addition to the existing
500km altitudes. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Governor Announces Membership of Texas
Space Commission, Research Consortium</span> (Source: Click2Houston)<br>
Governor Greg Abbott announced the establishment the Texas Space
Commission. Along with this announcement, the Governor appointed the
inaugural members of the commission’s Board of Directors and the Texas
Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium (TARSEC) Executive
Committee. The Texas Space Commission was formed with the goal of
strengthening the state’s influence in aerospace activity by promoting
innovation in space research and exploration. The organization will be
governed by its Board of Directors, which consists of nine members.
Click <a
href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-launches-texas-space-commission">here</a>.
(3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Selects First Lunar Instruments
for Artemis Astronaut Deployment</span> (Source: NASA)<br>
NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts
to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed
near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable
scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and
how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which will
help prepare NASA to send astronauts to Mars. Click <a
href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-first-lunar-instruments-for-artemis-astronaut-deployment/">here</a>.
(3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Russian Soyuz Delivers Crew of 3 to
the International Space Station </span>(Source: CBS News)<br>
Two days after launch, a Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship caught up with
the International Space Station Monday and moved in for a
picture-perfect docking, bringing two short-duration crew members and a
NASA astronaut starting a six-month stay in orbit. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bizarre ‘Hot Jupiter’ Planets Keep
Surprising Astronomers</span> (Source: Scientific American)<br>
Planets the mass of Jupiter are significantly more massive than all
other classes of planets and require a unique process to form.
Jupiter-mass planets must first build a core out of rock and ice and
then build a gaseous envelope large enough to start a process called
runaway accretion, where they hoover up all nearby material and
increase their mass 10-fold in less than a million years. Classic
formation theories predicted that this process would take place far
from the star, past the location where the ambient temperature is below
the freezing point of water. Click <a
href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bizarre-hot-jupiter-planets-keep-surprising-astronomers/">here</a>.
(3/25) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A Dead Star Will Soon Spark a
Once-in-a-Lifetime Display in Earth’s Skies</span> (Source: Scientific
American)<br>
T Coronae Borealis—often shortened to T CrB—is what astronomers call a
nova. T CrB last erupted in 1946, and its behavior suggests that its
next paroxysm is due any moment between now and September. When this
occurs, T CrB will become visible to the naked eye as a temporary jewel
in its constellation’s stelliferous crown. And far from treating it as
a mere spectacle, astronomers are going to use this latest outburst as
a chance to learn more about novae, which are oft-overlooked drivers of
cosmic chaos.<br>
<br>
To understand why T CrB has got astronomers so hyped, it helps to have
a primer on your average nova. Each one involves a perilous pairing
between a white dwarf, the small carcass left behind at the end of
certain stars’ life, and a “normal” companion star—in the case of T
CrB, a puffy red giant. The white dwarf is so dense that it’s able to
gravitationally pilfer hydrogen from its companion, which snows onto
the dwarf’s surface. This veneer heats up and eventually ignites,
sparking an unstoppable chain reaction that culminates in a nuclear
explosion. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Starlink Terminals Are Falling Into
the Wrong Hands</span> (Sources: Bloomberg, ArcaMax)<br>
SpaceX’s Starlink touts its high-speed internet as “available almost
anywhere on Earth.” In the real world, its reach extends to countries
where Elon Musk’s satellite-enabled service has no agreement to
operate, including territories ruled by repressive regimes. A Bloomberg
investigation identified wide-spanning examples of Starlink kits being
traded and activated illegally. How they are smuggled and the sheer
availability of Starlink on the black market suggests that its misuse
is a systemic global problem, raising questions about the company’s
control of a system with clear national security dimensions.<br>
<br>
In Yemen, which is in the throes of a decade-long civil war, a
government official conceded that Starlink is in widespread use. Many
people are prepared to defy competing warring factions, including
Houthi rebels, to secure terminals for business and personal
communications, and evade the slow, often censored internet service
that’s currently available. Or take Sudan, where a year-long civil war
has led to accusations of genocide, crimes against humanity and
millions of people fleeing their homes. With the regular internet down
for months, soldiers of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are among
those using the system for their logistics, according to Western
diplomats.<br>
<br>
“It is deeply concerning because it’s unregulated and headed by a
private company,” Emma Shortis, a senior researcher in international
and security affairs at the Australia Institute, an independent think
tank in Canberra, said of the Starlink system. “There’s no
accountability on who has access to it and how it’s being used.” (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Organizing to Deter or Prevail in
Space Warfare </span>(Source: War On The Rocks)<br>
Does the United States need both an armed service and a unified
combatant command to defend its national interests in outer space? The
answer is yes, given the imperatives to counter threats posed by
foreign powers to the freedom of space and assure effective support to
joint or combined military operations. Indeed, as former Vice Chief of
Space Operations Gen. David Thompson stated, “Both China and Russia are
regularly attacking U.S. satellites with non-kinetic means, including
lasers, radio frequency jammers, and cyber-attacks.” (3/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">PSLV’s POEM-3 Re-Enters Earth, Falls
in Pacific Ocean </span>(Source: Times of India)<br>
The Indian Space Research Organization's PSLV Orbital Experimental
Module-3 (POEM-3) successfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere in a
controlled manner, leaving minimal orbital debris. The spent rocket
stage had been transformed into a stabilized platform for conducting
experiments. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why Scientists Are Making Space Data
Into Sounds</span> (Source: Frontiers)<br>
When you travel somewhere where they speak a language you can’t
understand, it’s usually important to find a way to translate what’s
being communicated to you. In some ways, the same can be said about
scientific data collected from cosmic objects. All telescopes —
including Chandra, Webb, the Hubble Space Telescope, plus dozens of
others — in space need to send the data they collect back to Earth as
binary code, or digital signals. Typically, astronomers and others turn
these digital data into images, which are often spectacular.<br>
<br>
By taking these data through another step, however, experts on this
project mathematically map the information into sound. This data-driven
process is not a reimagining of what the telescopes have observed, it
is yet another kind of translation. Instead of a translation from
French to Mandarin, it’s a translation from visual to sound.
Astrophysical data engaging multiple senses like the sonifications
could establish additional avenues of trust, increase access, and
promote awareness of accessibility in sighted and blind or low-vision
communities. In short, sonifications helped people access and engage
with the Universe. (3/25)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturn's Moon Enceladus Top Target for
ESA</span> (Source: ESA)<br>
A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst
through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander
collects samples and analyses them for hints of life. ESA has started
to turn this scene into a reality, devising a mission to investigate an
ocean world around either Jupiter or Saturn. But which moon should we
choose? What should the mission do exactly? A team of expert scientists
has delivered their findings. (3/25)<br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-2403641525169673062024-03-26T05:30:00.002-04:002024-03-26T13:01:55.461-04:00March 26, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boeing Claims Virgin Galactic Owes $26
Million and Retained Proprietary Information</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingersoll Rand to Acquire ILC Dover</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AIA Untangles DoD Space Acquisition</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Boeing Corporate Shakeup Unlikely to
Impact Space Business</span> (Source: Boeing)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches More Starlink
Satellites From Cape Canaveral Spaceport</span> (Source: SpaceFlight
Now)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Apex Aries Satellite Commissioned
After Transporter Launch</span> (Source: Space News) <br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ExLabs Plans to Send a Mission to a
Near Earth Asteroid</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">George Abbey Passes Away at 91</span>
(Source: Houston Chronicle)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Early Adopters of NASA's PACE Data to
Study Air Quality, Ocean Health</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
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 <a
href="https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Early_Adopters_of_NASAs_PACE_Data_to_Study_Air_Quality_Ocean_Health_999.html">here</a>.
(3/26) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Japan Attempts to Revive Moon Lander
After Second Lunar Night </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Elevates Atmospheric and Space
Monitoring Capabilities with New Satellite </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aireon and Airbus Enhance Partnership
to Distribute Space-Based ADS-B Air Traffic Data to Wider Audience</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Barack Obama Says Jeff Bezos Should
Worry About Earth Before Space. But Bezos Says Going to Space is How
You Save Earth</span> (Source: Busines Insider)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS National Lab-Sponsored Research
Aims to Grow Tumors in Microgravity to Test Chemotherapy Effectiveness</span>
(Source: CASIS)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lessons From the First CLPS Lunar
Landing Missions</span> (Source: Space Review)<br>
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 <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=c266ae6fa8&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/25) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Proposing a National Naming
Competition for Our Lunar Exploration Program</span> (Source: Space
Review)<br>
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 <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=168f4ffa71&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/25) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Preventing a “Space Pearl Harbor”:
Rep. Turner Leads the Charge</span> (Source: Space Review)<br>
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 <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=2a3a964132&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/25) <br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-40901941917258981592024-03-25T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-25T15:41:59.014-04:00March 25, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">UK Space Agency Expands with New
Offices, New HQ </span>(Source: BBC)<br />
The U.K. Space Agency is opening new offices across the country. The
agency said Monday it will open a new headquarters in June at the
Harwell Science Campus as well as regional offices in Cardiff,
Edinburgh and Leicester. The new offices are intended to help the
agency better work with companies across the country. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China's Comms Relay Satellite Enters
Lunar Orbit </span>(Source: Space News)<br />
China's Queqiao-2 communications relay satellite entered lunar orbit on
Sunday. Queqiao-2 began a 19-minute-long braking burn at 12:46 p.m.
Eastern , allowing the spacecraft to be captured by the moon's gravity,
the China National Space Administration announced early Monday. The
spacecraft will maneuver into an elliptical orbit of 200 by 16,000
kilometers to provide relay services for missions like the Chang'e-6
farside lunar sample return mission, expected to launch in May. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astronauts from US, Russia, Belarus
Launch From Kazakhstan Days After Aborted Attempt</span> (Source: Space
News)<br />
A Soyuz spacecraft is on its way to the ISS after launch Saturday. A
Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off at 8:36 a.m. Eastern and placed the Soyuz
MS-25 spacecraft into orbit. The spacecraft carried a crew from
Russia, the U.S. and Belarus. The original launch attempt Thursday was scrubbed
by a low-voltage reading in the rocket's first stage. Saturday's launch
took place a little more than an hour after a Dragon cargo spacecraft,
launched Thursday, docked with the station. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites
From Florida, Ties Booster Reuse Record</span> (Source: SpaceFlight Now)<br />
A Falcon 9 launched a set of Starlink satellites Saturday night. The
Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:09 p.m. Eastern after a one-day delay caused
by poor weather at Cape Canaveral, deploying 23 Starlink satellites.
The Falcon 9 booster used for the flight completed its 19th launch,
becoming the second active booster, and third overall, to reach that
milestone, a record for the company. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Advanced Space Revolutionizes Moon
Navigation with AI-Powered CAPSTONE Experiment</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br />
Advanced Space, LLC has successfully deploying machine learning tools
for space navigation technology in cislunar space. The CAPSTONE
spacecraft embarked on pioneering software tests, establishing a
foundational shift towards autonomous orbital navigation. This
advancement, known as SigmaZero, employs a Neural Network (NN) to
identify and address navigational challenges, such as detecting subtle
accelerations that could otherwise disrupt the spacecraft's course.
(3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Strategies for Astronaut Helmet
Safety and Fire Suppression</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has made significant
strides in ensuring astronaut safety. One critical area of focus has
been on mitigating water hazards in astronaut helmets during EVAs. The
discovery of water accumulation in helmets, posing a significant risk
to astronauts, prompted the NESC to engage in comprehensive research
and development efforts. By simulating two-phase flow behaviors in
microgravity and testing mitigation hardware, the team successfully
devised strategies to prevent liquid water formation in helmets,
incorporating absorbent materials and enhancing helmet designs for
safer spacewalks.<br />
<br />
Another significant achievement is the evaluation of terrestrial
portable fire extinguishers (PFEs) for use in microgravity
environments. Through analytical modeling and custom-designed testing
stands, the NESC identified the potential challenges and benefits of
utilizing these PFEs in space, marking a crucial step in enhancing fire
safety aboard spacecraft. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Artemis II's Orion Spacecraft to
Undergo Critical Manual Handling Test</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
Astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft will engage in a
first-of-its-kind test drive during Artemis II, assessing manual
control capabilities critical for future expeditions. A major segment
of this mission involves the proximity operations demonstration, where
astronauts will manually maneuver Orion in space, using the SLS
rocket's upper stage as a reference point. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">W. Brian Keegan, Chief Engineer of
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Dies at 83</span> (Source:
Baltimore Sun)<br />
W. Brian Keegan, a chief engineer at NASA, died of cardiac arrest March
12 at Keswick Multi-Care Center in Baltimore. He was 83. William Brian
Keegan was born in the Irvington neighborhood of West Baltimore to
William and Madellyne Keegan. Mr. Keegan’s father was an engineer with
Westinghouse, and his mother was an administrative staffer for a
surgical practice. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gen. Howell Estes—NORAD, Space Command
Chief—Dies at 82</span> (Source: Air and Space Forces)<br />
Gen. Howell M. Estes III, who served as the triple-hatted
commander-in-chief of NORAD, U.S. Space Command, and Air Force Space
Command in the late 1990s, died March 18. Estes held a number of key
jobs in the Air Force and the Department of Defense, notably as the
Director of Operations for the Joint Staff and deputy chief of staff
for Strategic Air Command during the 1991 Gulf War. He was also one of
the first commanders of the 4450th Tactical Group, which flew the
highly secret F-117 attack jet in the years before the stealth aircraft
was publicly revealed. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">This Giant, Solar-Powered Sail Can
travel Forever, and it’s the Future of Space Exploration</span>
(Source: Fast Company)<br />
Over the last two decades, Les Johnson and his team of engineers have
quietly been pushing NASA into a new era of space exploration while
nobody was paying attention. As an engineer at the legendary Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama—the birthplace of the Saturn
V rocket that first took humans to the Moon—Johnson led the complex
design of a 17,780-square-foot sail that will push spaceships across
the solar system without using a single ounce of fuel.<br />
<br />
Called a “solar sail,” the silvery sheet of fabric is 32 times thinner
than a human hair and stretches the size of three basketball courts.
Over a recent Zoom call, Johnson says the sheet of fabric works much
like a sail used for boats—if a boat sail were designed for high-speed
space travel. “Just as a sailboat uses the wind to push it through the
water, solar sails use the pressure of sunlight to push them through
space,” Johnson says. <br />
<br />
This seemingly impossible feat is, in fact, not impossible at all. Avi
Loeb, an astrophysicist and Director of the Institute for Theory and
Computation at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, says
solar sails represent one of the most promising technologies for future
space exploration. They offer a sustainable and efficient way to
navigate the cosmos, with the potential to propel spacecraft to
unprecedented speeds and distances. (3/25)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Tricky Quest to Create an
Artificial Solar Eclipse</span> (Source: Washington Post)<br />
For scientists, a total eclipse is also a brief, once-in-awhile quirk
of orbital mechanics that lets them view of one of the most
consequential parts of our star: the atmospheric layer called the
corona. This dim outer region is mysteriously hotter than the solar
surface, generating a long-standing scientific puzzle. It’s also
churning with activity that can have major effects on Earth, disrupting
radio communications or even knocking out the power grid.<br />
<br />
To better understand the solar corona, scientists have been simulating
eclipses for nearly a century using specialized instruments called
coronagraphs. These devices are outfitted with black “occulting disks”
and specialized optics to blot out the sun’s brightest light. Only then
does the wispy corona come into view. Their occulting disk, made on a
3D printer, was suspended about two and a half feet in front of the
telescope on thin, carbon-fiber rods. They were trying the setup on the
day of an annular eclipse, when the moon would already be doing much of
the work by mostly covering the sun. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Launching a Dedicated MicroGEO
Communications Satellite for Argentina</span> (Source: Astranis)<br />
Astranis announced a partnership with Orbith, a fast-growing, Latin
American Internet Service Provider, to provide a dedicated MicroGEO
communications satellite for Argentina. This deal is an exciting
opportunity in a country that has proven its openness to disruptive
technologies and ideas. This new partnership with Orbith is a great
opportunity to expand our services to another fast-growing market, and
to work with a local partner who deeply understands the communications
needs of the Argentinian people. (3/18)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Airbus Continues to Collaborate with
NASA to Monitor Climate Change From Space</span> (Source: Airbus)<br />
Airbus has been awarded a contract to design and build the GRACE-C twin
spacecraft by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory JPL (Pasadena,
California). This new mission of NASA and the German Space Agency at
the German Aerospace Center (DLR) will strengthen the more than 20 year
long partnership between the USA and Germany to ensure uninterrupted
measurement of the Earth's gravity field, which started in 2002 with
GRACE and continues with GRACE Follow-On, launched in 2018. (3/19)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Billionaires Going to Space to
Industrialize the Moon, Asteroids, and Mars. It's Time to Set Some
Ground Rules</span> (Source: Business Insider)<br />
Elon Musk has said he plans to fly 1,000 Starships to build and
populate a city on Mars. Bezos envisions a trillion people living in
giant space stations across the solar system. Other space startups have
ambitions including asteroid mining, in vitro fertilization (IVF) in
space, and space hotels.<br />
<br />
What's to stop companies from putting giant advertisements on the face
of the moon? Or industrializing craters that scientists want to use for
telescopes? Or mining a single asteroid for $100 quintillion worth of
precious metals, bringing it back to Earth for sale, and destabilizing
the global economy? What will keep the budding deep-space industry in
check? <br />
<br />
So far, the US government has deliberately avoided regulating the
emerging space economy, for fear of suffocating it before it takes off.
The FAA is quite active in regulating passenger safety on airplanes,
for example, but has no rules for spaceflight passenger safety, even as
Blue Origin, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic fly tourists to the edge of
space or around the planet. Click <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaires-companies-going-to-space-need-rules-2024-3">here</a>.
(3/23)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Antenna Work Delays NISAR Launch</span>
(Source: Space News)<br />
Modifications to a large deployable antenna on a joint U.S.-Indian
radar spacecraft will delay its launch, likely to the second half of
the year. In a March 22 statement, NASA said a new launch date for the
NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission will be set at the
end of April because of work to protect the spacecraft’s reflector, an
antenna that is 12 meters across when fully deployed, from temperatures
when in its stowed configuration. (3/24)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Casey Honniball: Finding Her Space in
Lunar Science </span>(Source: NASA)<br />
Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field
work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments
during moonwalks. Click <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/people-of-nasa/goddard-people/casey-honniball-finding-her-space-in-lunar-science/" target="_blank">here</a>. (3/19) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astronomers and Megaconstellations
Learn to Get Along</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The problem of satellite interference on astronomy has not been solved,
astronomers made clear at the AAS meeting. “There’s some not-so-good
news and some good news,” said Connie Walker, co-director of the
International Astronomical Union’s Centre for the Protection of the
Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference, or CPS.
The not-so-good news, she said, was that the number of satellites “is
increasing exponentially.”<br />
<br />
“The good news is that companies are increasingly aware of the
situation,” she continued. “Some of these companies are willing to take
mitigation approaches to minimizing down below seventh magnitude.” That
brightness makes satellites invisible to the naked eye and reduces
their impacts on sensitive astronomical instruments. (3/23)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Blue Origin Passes Key Pee Milestone
for NASA Contract</span> (Source: Business Insider)<br />
On Wednesday, NASA reported that Orbital Reef passed four key
milestones for some of its most crucial technology, including a system
to recycle future astronauts' and tourists' urine. "These milestones
are critical to ensuring that a commercial destination can support
human life," Angela Hart, manager of NASA's Commercial Low Earth Orbit
Development Program, said in NASA's announcement.<br />
<br />
The milestones involved passing a series of tests on Orbital Reef's
regenerative system. This system will provide clean air and water for
humans to breathe and drink while on the space station. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Private Satellite Operators Make Case
for Helping Military Track Ground Targets</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The U.S. Air Force and the Space Force are working with the NRO to
develop a dedicated constellation of sensor satellites specifically
designed for Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI). This technology
would replace the large radar surveillance aircraft like JSTARS
previously used by the Air Force to track the movement of troops and
vehicles on the ground.<br />
<br />
At the same time, hundreds of commercial remote sensing satellites are
orbiting the Earth, leading industry executives to question whether the
military should leverage these commercial systems for GMTI. They
pointed out that while military systems optimized for persistent
custody of specific targets will still be required, regularly updated
commercial imagery could potentially handle general monitoring of areas
of interest and tracking of slower-moving targets and patterns of life.
(3/23)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Conducts Full-Duration Artemis
Moon Rocket Engine Test</span> (Source: NASA)<br />
NASA continued a key RS-25 engine test series for future Artemis
flights of the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket March
22 with a hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space
Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It marked the 10th hot fire in
a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead
contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Largest Map of the Universe Includes
1,300 Supermassive Black Holes</span> (Source: Cosmos)<br />
Astronomers have created a new map of the universe which includes 1.3
million supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of galaxies.
SMBHs have a mass between 100,000 and 10 billion times that of our own
Sun. (3/19)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-2807339293700676942024-03-24T05:30:00.005-04:002024-03-24T19:20:13.536-04:00March 24, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">California Must Invest More in the
Space Industry, Say State’s Members of US House and Senate </span>(Source:
OC Register)<br>
Several dozen members of California’s congressional delegation asked
Gov. Gavin Newsom to prioritize investment in the space industry, part
of a move among leaders responding to recent job cuts and funding
shortfalls. In their letter, 40 House members and the state’s two
senators emphasized the need for greater state leadership and continued
investment, which they said will bring to California high-paying jobs
and large economic growth.<br>
<br>
California has a rich heritage of spaceflight, said Madhu Thangavelu, a
lecturer of astronautical engineering at the University of Southern
California. The state, instrumental in landing men on the moon in the
space race, is home to offices or headquarters of several industry
heavyweights, including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, NASA and SpaceX. <br>
<br>
“No other state could compete with California because of our heritage,”
he said. “There’s a whole culture around human spaceflight that exists
in all of California.” Since 2019, California has invested $625 million
in more than 25 counties in the defense and space industry through
various programs, said Newsom spokesperson Omar Rodriguez, including
those that offer tax credits to businesses based in the state. (3/23)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Adrianos Golemis First Greek to
Succeed in ESA Tests for Astronauts</span> (Source: EuroNews.next)<br>
Adrianos Golemis has passed the European Space Agency (ESA) test to
become an astronaut, making him the first Greek to do so. Every year,
22,500 applicants apply for ESA's exams to become an astronaut. Only
twenty-five make it through all three rounds. Golemis has passed the
first after years working for ESA as a doctor. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Finding Atmospheres on Red Dwarf
Planets Will Take Hundreds of Hours of Webb Time</span> (Source:
Universe Today)<br>
The JWST is enormously powerful. One of the reasons it was launched is
to examine exoplanet atmospheres to determine their chemistry,
something only a powerful telescope can do. But even the JWST needs
time to wield that power effectively, especially when it comes to one
of exoplanet science’s most important targets: rocky worlds orbiting
red dwarfs.<br>
<br>
New research suggests that it could take the capable JWST hundreds of
hours of observing time to detect these atmospheres to a greater degree
of certainty. The new research is “Do Temperate Rocky Planets Around M
Dwarfs Have an Atmosphere?” The sole author is Rene Doyon from the
Physics Department at the University of Montreal, Canada. The paper
hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Would Rather Use A Ford F-150
Lightning Than Cybertruck</span> (Source: Jalopnik)<br>
The Ford F-150 Lightning has earned the SpaceX seal of approval before
the Tesla Cybertruck, and it has been photographed bearing the livery
of Elon Musk’s commercial spaceflight company. It seems even SpaceX
would rather rely on Ford’s EV pickup than the Cybertruck when it comes
to the serious business of launching rockets and people into space — at
least for now, while Tesla is ironing out the kinks in the Cybertruck’s
shiny and ill-conceived design.<br>
<br>
The Cybertruck has run into a few problems as production of the EV
struggles on. It’s been plagued by build quality issues that run the
gamut from the threat of rust (or “surface contaminants”) to being
immobilized by “critical steering issues.” Point is, the Cybertruck is
hardly the EV of choice for an organization when a working vehicle is
mission-critical. And that may be why “SpaceX has Ford Lightnings”
running around as work trucks. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AT&T, AST SpaceMobile Promise
'True Broadband' From Satellite Phone Service</span> (Source: PC
Magazine)<br>
AT&T’s plans to launch satellite-to-phone connectivity via its
partner AST SpaceMobile don’t feature the rocket fuel of the Apple or
SpaceX hype machine, but they do include something absent from the
Emergency SOS feature on newer iPhones and early versions of T-Mobile’s
planned Starlink service: usable broadband.<br>
<br>
AT&T and AST executives made that pitch in a panel Wednesday in
Washington. “We solve a real problem,” said Abel Avellan, AST chairman,
founder, and CEO. “This is not just going to be texting, it's not just
going to be voice, it's going to be true broadband,” added Chris
Sambar, AT&T network head. (3/21)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Sends Congress $1 Billion
List of Unfunded Projects</span> (Source: C4ISRnet)<br>
The Space Force asked Congress for more than $1 billion for a largely
classified slate of high-priority efforts it didn’t include in its
fiscal 2025 budget request. The list, obtained by C4ISRNET, includes
$846 million in classified projects. The remaining $305 million is
largely focused on improving the resiliency of Space Force systems and
training capabilities. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bezos Readies Blue Origin for Its
Biggest Test</span> (Source: The Information)<br>
At some point during the second half of this year, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s
founder, will stuff his feet into a pair of cowboy boots and, if
everything goes as planned, watch as a rocket made by his space
startup, Blue Origin, blasts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force
Station in Florida. The boots are a good luck charm that Bezos wears
whenever Blue Origin launches a rocket. <br>
<br>
For the launch later this year—the first for a gigantic new rocket
called New Glenn—the company can use any advantage it can get. What’s
his anticipation level for the launch? “On a scale from 1 to 10, I’m at
a 12,” Bezos said, sitting inside a bustling Cuban restaurant on the
outskirts of Miami. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Europa Clipper May Only Need 1 Ice
Grain to Detect Life on Jupiter's Ocean Moon</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
A single grain of ice ejected from Jupiter's ocean moon Europa, if
captured by NASA's forthcoming Europa Clipper spacecraft, could be
enough to reveal evidence of alien life, a new experiment
suggests. "With suitable instrumentation, such as the SUrface Dust
Analyzer on NASA's Europa Clipper space probe, it might be easier than
we thought to find life, or traces of it, on icy moons," said Frank
Postberg.<br>
<br>
Under the assumption that Europa Clipper may also fly through an icy
moon plume, scientists investigated whether the spacecraft's Surface
Dust Analyzer (SUDA) might be able to detect any life carried up from
the ocean on the plume. SUDA is designed to study particles of Europa's
surface ice and dust sputtered into space as the moon is
constantly bombarded by micrometeorites, but perhaps it could analyze
ice grains in the plumes, too. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China’s Military is Taking a Strategic
Approach to On-Orbit Refueling</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is already integrating lessons
learned into military doctrine and training tools, while a defense
contractor has already demonstrated what it calls a space fuel tanker
in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), according to a report published by
the China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI) March 18. The report
underlines that the PLA has a strategic focus on enhancing its on-orbit
logistics capabilities and is integrating commercial enterprises into
the space sector. These developments have potential implications for
international space operations norms and should prompt action by the
U.S. Space Force to attain similar capabilities and readiness. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Suspends Swift Gamma-Ray Space
Telescope Operations</span> (Source: Space.com)<br />
NASA has officially halted science observations conducted by its Neil
Gehrels Swift Observatory. Don't worry, though. The space telescope,
which observes some of the most powerful blasts of radiation from the
universe's most violent cosmic events, known as "gamma-ray bursts," is
only temporarily out of order. NASA placed Swift into safe mode on
March 15 as a result of the "degrading performance" of one of the three
gyroscopes the space telescope uses to direct itself toward
astrophysical sources astronomers want to study. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Johnson Space Center to Host
Visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott</span> (Source: NASA)<br />
NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a Tuesday, March 26,
visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who will make a major announcement
on the future of the space industry in Texas. Abbott will be joined by
NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas House Speaker
Dade Phelan, Texas Representative Greg Bonnen and other state and space
industry leaders. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Flight Attendant Becomes First
Belarusian in Space on Soyuz MS-25</span> (Source: CollectSpace)<br />
For the first time, a spacecraft has lifted off with a flight attendant
aboard, but there will be no drink service during the flight. Marina
Vasilevskaya, who also served as a flight instructor for Belavia
Airlines in her home country of Belarus, traded her attendant uniform
for a Russian Sokol pressure suit to become the first Belarusian to fly
into space. On Saturday (March 23), she launched on Russia's Soyuz
MS-25 spacecraft with cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky of Roscosmos and NASA
astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson on a mission to the ISS. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aerospace Corp. to Invest $100 Million
in California Campus, Move Headquarters to Washington D.C. Area</span>
(Source: LA Times)<br />
Research and development lab Aerospace Corp. moved its headquarters
this week to Virginia from El Segundo but reaffirmed its commitment to
its South Bay campus by announcing a $100-million investment there. The
federally funded nonprofit corporation, which supports government and
private-sector space work, said there would be no “significant
relocation of current employees” in the move to Chantilly, Va., where
it has another campus, but said industry changes required it. (3/22)<br />
</span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-48485749595473342272024-03-23T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-23T20:41:21.406-04:00March 23, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Future of the Space Force Isn’t on
Earth — it’s in the Solar System</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
it is clear that the United States Space Force, while dominated by old
thinking, still doesn’t know what it wants to be when it grows up, and
is split among multiple different areas of focus. The challenge is that
it has to grow up fast. It seems the Force’s leadership are of three
minds: those who look down, focusing on ground operations, those who
look around at orbital space and those who look up and out. Click <a
href="https://spacenews.com/future-space-force-earth-solar-system/">here</a>.
(3/20) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Amid Rising Anger at Boeing, Board
Members Will Hold Customer Meetings Without CEO</span> (Source: Fortune)<br>
Boeing directors plan to meet with top executives from some of their
largest customers, who are growing increasingly frustrated about the
planemaker’s crisis tearing into their business. Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s
chief executive officer, will not participate in the gatherings set to
begin next week, said people familiar with the matter. Larry Kellner,
the chairman of Boeing’s board, is spearheading the unusual listening
tour and will be joined by two to three other directors for each
session. (3/21)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Boeing Asks Court to Block Virgin
Galactic From Using Its Data</span> (Source: Bloomberg)<br>
Boeing is seeking a court order to block further use of its trade
secrets by Virgin Galactic after the companies stopped working together
on a space tourism project. The proprietary data was shared with Virgin
Galactic when it engaged Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences unit to help
develop a so-called Mothership jet carrier. But after the companies
ended their collaboration last year, Virgin Galactic refused to honor
its contractual promise to destroy two sets of trade secrets, according
to a complaint the US planemaker filed in federal court in eastern
Virginia. (3/21)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why It’s So Challenging to Land
Upright on the Moon</span> (Source: Orlando Sentinel)<br />
Why is there a sudden epidemic of spacecraft rolling on the moon like
Olympic gymnasts performing floor routines? Is it really that difficult
to land upright there? On the internet and elsewhere, people pointed to
the height of the Odysseus lander — 14 feet from the bottom of the
landing feet to the solar arrays at the top — as a contributing factor
for its off-kilter touchdown. Had Intuitive Machines, the maker of
Odysseus, made an obvious error in building the spacecraft that way?<br />
<br />
The company’s officials provide an engineering rationale for the tall,
skinny design, but those internet commenters do have a point. Something
tall falls over more easily than an object that is short and squat. And
on the moon, where the pull of gravity is just one-sixth as strong as
on Earth, the propensity to tip over is even greater. Philip Metzger at
the University of Central Florida explained that Odysseus was supposed
to land vertically with zero horizontal velocity, but because of
problems with the navigation system, it was still moving sideways when
it hit the ground.<br />
<br />
“Intuition that’s based on Earth is now a liability,” Metzger said. He
gave the example of trying to push over the refrigerator in your
kitchen. “It’s so heavy that a slight push is not going to push it
over,” Metzger said. But if you replace it with a piece of Styrofoam in
the shape of a refrigerator, mimicking the weight of a real
refrigerator in lunar gravity, “then a very light push will push it
over,” Metzger said. His calculations suggested that for a spacecraft
like Odysseus, the landing legs need to be splayed about 2 1/2 times as
wide on the moon as on the Earth to counteract the same amount of
sideways motion. (3/10)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FAA Looks at Batch Licensing for
Starship</span> (Source: Payload)<br />
Going forward, the FAA will look to ease Starship’s launch approval
process. “We’re trying to work with them to get them on a different
program, if you will, in terms of how we approve their launches going
forward,” FAA's Kelvin Coleman said. “We want to get away from the
launch-by-launch approvals and get more into what Part 450 was really
designed for, which is an approval of a portfolio of launches.”
(3/18) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA, Health and Human Services
Highlight Cancer Moonshot Progress</span> (Source: NASA)<br />
During an event at NASA Headquarters in Washington Thursday, NASA
Administrator Bill Nelson and U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra united to note progress their
respective agencies are making in space and on Earth toward President
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. <br />
<br />
Nelson noted several related experiments space station astronauts have
conducted aboard the orbital laboratory for the benefit of all
including protein crystal growth, nanoparticle drug delivery, tissue
engineering, and stem cell research. In addition to $2.9 billion across
HHS in the President’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, Becerra
discussed his agency’s capabilities to accelerate progress toward the
President’s moonshot goals. NASA is working with HHS and researchers
across the federal government to help cut the nation’s cancer death
rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, a goal of the Cancer
Moonshot Initiative. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">"Woke?" Australian Space Diversity
Alliance Launched to Promote Diversity in Space</span> (Source: Defense
Connect)<br />
The Australian Space Diversity Alliance (ASDA) said it aims to support
senior leaders and minimise the barriers that marginalised groups face.
It comes after a series of reports have shown the sector is lagging
behind others in regard to gender disparity, and alongside a talent
shortage critics say can only be overcome with a more diverse intake.
ASDA was founded by eight industry figures, including Defence Council
of Victoria’s Anntonette Dailey, ANU’s Dr Cassandra Steer, and
Raytheon’s Linda Spurr. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISRO Successfully Carries Out
'Pushpak' Reusable Launch Vehicle Experiment</span> (Source: Swarajya)<br />
India successfully carried out the landing mission of its Reusable
Launch Vehicle (RLV) named 'Pushpak' from the Aeronautical Test Range
(ATR). "ISRO nails it again! Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle,
landed autonomously with precision on the runway after being released
from an off-nominal position," ISRO wrote. The experiment RLV-LEX-02,
second of the series, was conducted Friday. (3/22)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AT&T Underlines Support for
Realizing Direct-to-Smartphone Satellite Service</span> (Source: Space
News)<br />
AT&T is prepared to provide more funds to help get AST
SpaceMobile’s direct-to-smartphone constellation plans off the ground.
AST SpaceMobile raised $155 million from AT&T and other investors
in January, but the satellite operator needs more capital to provide 5G
connectivity globally from low Earth orbit to phones and other devices
outside cell tower coverage. (3/22)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-86040658009856091942024-03-22T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-22T11:30:20.546-04:00March 22, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Starship Could Threaten Small Launch
Providers </span>(Source: Ars Technica)<br>
Officials from several companies operating or developing small
satellite launch vehicles are worried that SpaceX's giant Starship
rocket could have a big impact on their marketability. Starship's
ability to haul more than 100 metric tons of payload mass into
low-Earth orbit will be attractive not just for customers with heavy
satellites but also for those with smaller spacecraft. Aggregating
numerous smallsats on Starship will mean lower prices than dedicated
small satellite launch companies can offer and could encourage
customers to build larger satellites with cheaper parts, further
eroding business opportunities for small launch providers. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Night Flight for Astrobotic's Xodiac</span>
(Source: Ars Technica)<br>
The Xodiac rocket, a small terrestrial vertical takeoff and vertical
landing technology testbed, made its first night flight. The
liquid-fueled Xodiac is designed for vertical hops and can host
prototype sensors and other payloads, particularly instruments in
development to assist in precision landings on other worlds. This first
tethered night flight of Xodiac in Mojave, California, was in
preparation for upcoming flight testing with the NASA TechLeap Prize’s
Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge. These flights will begin in
April, allowing NASA to test the ability of sensors to map a landing
field designed to simulate the Moon's surface in near-total darkness.
(3/22)<br>
<br>
Xodiac has completed more than 160 successful flights, dating back to
the vehicle's original owner, Masten Space Systems. Masten filed for
bankruptcy in 2022, and the company was acquired by Astrobotic a couple
of months later. Astrobotic's primary business area is in developing
and flying robotic Moon landers, so it has a keen interest in mastering
automated landing and navigation technologies like those it is testing
with NASA on Xodiac. David Masten, founder of Masten Space Systems, is
now chief engineer for Astrobotic's propulsion and test department.
"The teams will demonstrate their systems over the LSPG (Lunar Surface
Proving Ground) at night to simulate landing on the Moon during the
lunar night or in shadowed craters." (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A Rare Countdown Abort for Soyuz</span>
(Source: Ars Technica)<br>
On Thursday, a crew of three people was due to launch on a Soyuz rocket
bound for the International Space Station. However, the launch scrubbed
at about 20 seconds before the planned liftoff time, just before the
sequence to ignite the rocket's engines was initiated, due to
unspecified issues, Ars reports. The three people inside the Soyuz
spacecraft, on top of the rocket, were NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson,
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina
Vasilevskaya of Belarus. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">GITAI's Robotic System Triumphs in ISS
Demo </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br>
GITAI USA Inc. reports the completion of its technological
demonstration, which involved a 1.5-meter-long autonomous dual robotic
arm system (S2) performing tasks outside the International Space
Station (ISS). This demonstration represents a critical advancement in
on-orbit satellite servicing, demonstrating capabilities critical for
satellite maintenance, repair, and assembly in space. (3/20)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Industry Team Advances Lidar
Technology for Earth and Lunar Missions</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
This summer, NASA engineers will embark on airborne tests of innovative
laser technologies designed for Earth science and potentially enhancing
lunar exploration models. These instruments, based on light detection
and ranging (lidar) technology, promise to refine the accuracy of
models depicting the Moon's topography and identify suitable landing
areas for the Artemis missions. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Study Shows Bed Rest Simulating Space
Affects Human Gene Rhythms</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
A study has revealed that simulated microgravity conditions, akin to
those experienced by astronauts, cause disruptions in the natural
rhythms of gene expression in humans. This simulation was achieved
through 60 days of bed rest, providing insights into the molecular
changes that occur in space. The study underscores the effects of
microgravity on human physiology, which includes immune system
weakening, inflammation escalation, and the decline of muscle mass and
bone density. (3/20)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Antaris and SpeQtral Unveil Quantum
Encryption Satellite Collaboration</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Antaris, a supplier of military space mission software, has teamed up
with SpeQtral, specialists in quantum key distribution (QKD), to
manufacture and deploy satellites equipped with quantum-safe key
distribution technology for both government and commercial use. The
collaboration includes merging SpeQtral's cutting-edge quantum payloads
with Antaris's SatOS space vehicle software and partner bus platforms,
setting a new standard in the field. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">General Atomics Partners with Lockheed
Martin for Next-Gen Missile Tracking Satellites</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has been selected by
Lockheed Martin Space to supply missile warning, tracking, and defense
payloads. These systems are essential components of Lockheed Martin's
project under the Space Development Agency's (SDA) Tranche 2 Tracking
Layer Program, which involves deploying 18 satellites. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Congress Scrambles to Pass $1.2T
Spending Bill</span> (Source: New York Times)<br>
Congressional leaders have unveiled a $1.2 trillion spending bill to
fund the government until September, amid uncertainty about avoiding a
partial shutdown over the weekend. Facing a Friday midnight deadline to
prevent funding lapses for significant agencies, including the
Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, lawmakers are
hastening to pass the bill. (3/21) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A SpaceX Cargo Dragon Launched to the
ISS</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Thursday and
placed the CRS-30 Dragon into orbit. The Dragon, carrying more than
2,800 kilograms of cargo, is scheduled to dock with the ISS Saturday
morning. The launch was the first to use a new crew tower at Space
Launch Complex 40, which SpaceX built to provide a backup to Launch
Complex 39A. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Final FY-24 Spending Bill Would Reduce
Space Force Budget</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A final fiscal year 2024 spending bill would reduce the Space Force's
budget by $1 billion relative to what it requested. The bill, released
early Thursday, would provide the service with $29 billion, about $1
billion less than what the Biden administration had requested but still
some $2.7 billion more than Space Force received for 2023. The bill
cuts the Space Force's procurement account request by $600 million and
its research, development, testing and engineering account by $400
million. <br>
<br>
The bill, though, does increase funding for National Security Space
Launch research and development as well as Tactically Responsive Space.
A big winner in the 2024 defense bill is the Defense Innovation Unit
(DIU), which gets a an $842 million increase. The House and Senate are
expected to take up the bill today to avert a partial government
shutdown. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Command to Improve GEO Object
Tracking</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The head of U.S. Space Command says the military plans to improve its
abilities to track objects in geosynchronous orbit. With a growing need
for better space domain awareness, the Pentagon wants additional
satellites acting as eyes and ears in the GEO belt, Gen. Stephen
Whiting said Thursday. The U.S. Space Force is modernizing ground-based
sensors, such as a deep space radar, that are critical to monitoring
the GEO belt. The Space Force and the intelligence community are also
working on new surveillance satellites to keep a closer eye on
potential threats such as anti-satellite weapons. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NRO to Support Agile Launch Innovation</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
The National Reconnaissance Office is seeking new technologies to
support its launch operations. The NRO's Office of Space Launch
recently issued a Broad Area Announcement (BAA) seeking proposals for
its "Agile Launch Innovation and Strategic Technology Advancement"
program. The BAA covers topics such as in-space mobility and refueling
as well as artificial intelligence for ground operations. The BAA comes
as the NRO performed the final launch under a five-launch contract with
Rocket Lab early Thursday under a Rapid Acquisition of a Small Rocket
(RASR) contract. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Undersea Cable Cuts Bolster Interest
in Rivada's Constellation</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Rivada Space Networks says a recent series of undersea internet cable
cuts has bolstered interest in its satellite constellation .Rivada CEO
Declan Ganley claimed that enterprises have been flocking to the
company to learn how its proposed constellation of up to 600 satellites
could provide redundancy for their networks. While he said Rivada had
MOUs worth more than $7 billion from potential customers, he provided
few specifics on financing for that constellation. That constellation
would be built by Terran Orbital, and Terran CEO Marc Bell said Rivada
remains current on all invoices ahead of plans to deploy two or four
prototype spacecraft before the end of the year. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hanwha Phasor Adds Product to
Burgeoning Broadband Terminal Market</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Hanwha Phasor plans to release its first flat panel antenna this summer
to join a wave of multi-orbit broadband terminals coming to the market.
The company's Phasor L3300B is designed to connect land vehicles for
government and commercial users seeking connectivity from Ku-band
satellites in GEO or LEO. <br>
<br>
Hybrid antennas promise customers greater network redundancy and the
flexibility to access the strengths of various orbital regimes without
the need for multiple terminals, making them particularly suitable for
vehicles on the move. The company says it is talking with potential
military customers across the United States, Europe and South Korea,
and expects to start taking orders in the next three months. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Amid Mixed Mixed Financial Results,
Intuitive Machines Plans Second Lunar Lander Mission</span> (Source:
Space News)<br>
Intuitive Machines is looking ahead to its next lunar lander mission
and other contracts. The company reported Thursday an operating loss of
$56.2 million in 2023, but said its cash balance grew since the start
of the year from $4.5 million to $54.6 million after the exercise of
stock warrants and other investments. The company is continuing to
review data from the IM-1 lunar lander mission and says it still
expects to launch IM-2 by the end of the year. Intuitive Machines is
also looking to win additional business, such as upcoming NASA
contracts for an Artemis lunar rover and cislunar communications
services. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India Performs Launcher Landing Test </span>(Source:
PTI)<br>
India performed another landing test of a reusable launch vehicle
prototype. The RLV-LEX-02 vehicle, an unpowered winged vehicle, was
dropped from a helicopter Friday from an altitude of 4,500 meters and
glided to a runway landing. The vehicle is intended to test landing
technologies that could be used on a future reusable launcher. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India's Angikul Cosmos Postpones
Suborbital Launch Demo</span> (Source: Express News)<br>
An Indian startup has postponed the launch of a suborbital vehicle.
Agnikul Cosmos has planned to launch its Sub Orbital Technology
Demonstrator (SOrTeD) mission Friday from a launch pad at the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre, but called off the launch after "certain minor
observations" in the vehicle during launch preparations, details of
which the company did not disclose. Agnikul Cosmos did not disclose a
new launch date. The SOrTeD mission is intended to test systems the
company plans to use in the Agnibaan small launch vehicle it is
developing. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Caltech to Develop Space Exploration
Center</span> (Source: LA Times)<br>
A $100 million donation to Caltech will fund a new center to develop
exploration technologies with a "SpaceX vibe." Caltech said Thursday
that the donation from financier Gary Brinson will allow it establish
the Brinson Exploration Hub, which will focus on development of
technologies for space and Earth applications. The center will take on
a more iterative approach to technology development with a higher
tolerance for risk. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astronomers Seek to Preserve Lunar
Farside Shielding</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
Astronomers are meeting this week to find ways to preserve the far side
of the moon for radio astronomy. The meeting in Italy by the
International Academy of Astronautics is intended to study how to keep
the lunar farside, shielded from terrestrial radio emissions,
radio-quiet as exploration of the moon increases. Astronomers want to
preserve that environment to support future radio telescopes there that
could better observe the universe. (3/22)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS National Lab-Sponsored Optical
Glass Fabrication Moves the Future of In-Space Manufacturing</span>
(Source: CASIS) <br />
New fiber optics experiments sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory
launched on Northrop Grumman’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services
(NG-20) mission. These experiments will test Flawless Photonics, Inc.'s
unique approach to solving the issue of gravity-induced defects in
optical glass products manufactured on Earth. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DoD Innovation Unit to Assess Firefly
Vehicle for Missions Beyond Earth Orbit</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The Defense Innovation Unit announced March 21 it has signed an
agreement with Firefly Aerospace to study the potential use of the
company’s Elytra orbital vehicle for missions beyond geosynchronous
Earth orbit. The Pentagon’s commercial technology arm, DIU awarded
Firefly a study contract that, once complete, could lead to as many as
two flight demonstration missions in the region between GEO orbit and
the moon, known as cislunar space. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Retaliated Against Employees
Who Discussed Pay, Labor Board Says</span> (Source: Quartz)<br />
SpaceX is facing new labor-related allegations. Officials at the
National Labor Relations Board say SpaceX engaged in unfair labor
practices after it retaliated against its employees in December of
2022. SpaceX “interfered with, restrained and coerced its employees”
from discussing “wages, hours, or conditions of employment,” the NLRB
said in its filing. Employees that came together to discuss salaries
and employment terms were then fired, the agency said.<br />
<br />
NLRB also alleged that SpaceX maintained a hostile work environment
that discouraged workers from contacting NLRB. The space company has an
estimated 9500 employees, NLRB says. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">High School Students Contribute to
Exoplanet Discovery</span> (Source: SETI Institute)<br />
In a project aimed at democratizing science and fostering educational
enrichment, a group of high school students from the Galaxy Explorer
program at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland,
California, made contributions to the field of exoplanet research.
Researchers from the SETI Institute worked with the students to use
backpack-sized digital smart telescopes provided by Unistellar; these
young citizen scientists played a role in observing and confirming the
nature of a warm and dense sub-Saturn planet, known as TIC 139270665 b,
orbiting a metal-rich G2 star. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Life’s Building Blocks are
Surprisingly Stable in Venus-Like Conditions</span> (Source: MIT News)<br />
If there is life in the solar system beyond Earth, it might be found in
the clouds of Venus. In contrast to the planet’s blisteringly
inhospitable surface, Venus’ cloud layer, which extends from 30 to 40
miles above the surface, hosts milder temperatures that could support
some extreme forms of life. A new study reports that, in fact, some key
building blocks of life can persist in solutions of concentrated
sulfuric acid.<br />
<br />
The study’s authors have found that 19 amino acids that are essential
to life on Earth are stable for up to four weeks when placed in vials
of sulfuric acid at concentrations similar to those in Venus’ clouds.
In particular, they found that the molecular “backbone” of all 19 amino
acids remained intact in sulfuric acid solutions ranging in
concentration from 81 to 98 percent. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pioneering Muscle Monitoring in Space
to Help Astronauts Stay Strong in Low-Gravity</span> (Source:
University of Southampton)<br />
Astronauts have been able to track their muscle health in spaceflight
for the first time using a handheld device, revealing which muscles are
most at risk of weakening in low gravity conditions. An international
research team monitored the muscle health of twelve astronauts before,
during and after a stay on the ISS. Findings indicate that the
astronauts’ daily exercise regime was effective in preserving most
muscle groups, but crucial lower leg muscles showed signs of
deterioration. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley Wins
Satellite Executive of the Year Award</span> (Source: SpaceQ)<br />
At the Satellite 2024 conference in Washington, MDA Space CEO Mike
Greenley was announced as the winner of the 2023 Satellite Executive of
the Year Award. Greenley was up against some very tough competition
that included Chris Kubasik, CEO of L3Harris, Eva Berneke, CEO of
Eutelsat Group, Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, Peter Beck, CEO
of Rocket Lab, and Stuart Daughtridge, Chairman of the DIFI Consortium.
(3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Two Dozen CA Congressional Reps Urge
NASA to Commit Funds to Mars Sample Mission</span> (Source: MyNews LA)<br />
Roughly two dozen California congressional representatives sent a
letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Wednesday calling on him to
commit at least $650 million to an ambitious Jet Propulsion
Laboratory-led mission to collect rock and soil samples from Mars and
return them to Earth. The Mars Sample Return mission has fallen victim
to budget cutbacks, contributing to the layoffs of more than 500 people
at JPL in Pasadena earlier this year. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sierra Space Solar Panels Providing
Power for LizzieSat in Low Earth Orbit</span> (Source: Sierra Space)<br />
Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and emerging defense
tech prime building a platform in space to benefit and protect life on
Earth, has achieved yet another milestone in space technology by
providing the cutting-edge solar technology that powers Sidus Space’s
first LizzieSat satellite, which successfully launched and deployed to
Low Earth Orbit on March 4. Sierra Space provided a full shipset of
eight deployable solar panels and one top plate to Sidus Space. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Agnikul's Two-Minute-Long Mission
Could Give India a New Launch Vehicle</span> (Source: India Today)<br />
Agnikul Cosmos, a private aerospace company, is all set to conduct the
maiden test of its under-development launch vehicle to demonstrate the
reliability of a homegrown system. The Sub-Obital Technology
Demonstrator (SOrTeD) mission will last just over two minutes, from
launch to splashdown, and yet it could pave the way for the next
generation of satellite launchers from the country. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Starship Could Have a Big Impact on
Small Launch Vehicle</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
A large launch vehicle could end up having a big effect on the small
launch vehicle market through low prices and encouraging customers to
build larger satellites. The emergence of SpaceX’s Starship vehicle,
which is designed to place 100 metric tons or more into low Earth
orbit, has captured the attention of companies developing vehicles that
can place one metric ton or less into orbit because of Starship’s
potential to further reshape a market already affected by the company’s
Falcon 9.<br />
<br />
“Starship for sure will disrupt further the launch business and the
space business in general,” said Marino Fragnito, senior vice president
and head of the Vega business unit at Arianespace, during a panel at
the Satellite 2024 conference March 20. “One scenario is that Musk
could really monopolize everything." Starship would seem to be
ill-suited for launching smallsats given its massive size. “I think
Starship will open new business, like exploration, human spaceflight
and commercial space stations,” he said. “I don’t think Starship can
launch small satellites or will be used to launch small satellites.”
(3/21)<br />
</span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-65167429923731420022024-03-21T05:30:00.004-04:002024-03-21T15:57:25.383-04:00March 21, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Proposal to Create a Spaceport in
Minnesota </span>(Source: Grand Forks Herald)<br />
Dave Neville, representative of the Can-Am 5M Project, is pitching the
idea of bringing a spaceport to Minnesota’s Iron Range. He and his
colleagues are building community support for a project that would take
advantage of the area’s geographic location and well-mined landscape to
launch rockets into polar orbit, heading north over Canada and then
into space.<br />
<br />
Neville is co-founder and president of Infinity Robotics, based in
Savage, Minnesota, and the president of Minnesota Innovates, which
works with the MinnWest CEO Forum and Entrepreneur Summit. He first
spoke to Prairie Business about the idea last fall and since then, he
and a few volunteer colleagues and engineers have been proposing the
spaceport as the Can-Am 5M Project. (3/18)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rocket Lab Launches NRO Satellite From
Virginia Spaceport </span>(Source: Rocket Lab)<br />
Rocket Lab conducted an Electron launch for the National Reconnaissance
Office (NRO) early Thursday. The Electron rocket lifted off at 3:25
a.m. Eastern from Wallops Island, Virginia, on the NROL-123 mission for
the NRO. The NRO did not disclose details about the mission other than
it is "putting research missions into space." The launch was the second
Electron flight in as many weeks and fourth Electron launch so far this
year. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS Cargo Launch From LC-40 a Step
Toward Additional Pad for Crew Missions</span> (Source: Florida Today)<br />
This mission will take advantage of the newly added crew access arm at
Launch Complex 40 even though there are no crew members on this flight.
This will be the first Dragon 2 spacecraft to launch from LC-40.
Although this flight will not have a crew onboard, future launches from
this site could. According to NASA Spaceflight, the success of this
launch will assist in certifying SLC-40 for future crewed launches.
(3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Launches Military Weather
Satellites</span> (Source: Xihua)<br />
China launched a set of military weather satellites early Thursday. A
Long March 2D rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
at 1:27 a.m. Eastern and deployed the Yunhai-2 02 group of satellites.
The satellites are part of a system believed to be used by China's
military for weather forecasting. (3/21)<br />
<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New
Launchers Angle for Competitive Advantage</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The launch industry is continuing to negotiate a transition to new
lines of launch vehicles. A panel at the Satellite 2024 conference
featured two companies that recently successfully launched new rockets,
ULA's Vulcan Centaur and MHI's H3, and four other developing new
rockets. Arianespace said on the panel it is still on track for a first
Ariane 6 launch in the latter half of June. While the new vehicles are
intended to address a lack of launch capacity on the market today,
companies said they are also working to find ways to set themselves
apart through customized services. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">House Committee Advances Space Bills</span>
(Source: Space News)<br />
The House Science Committee advanced four space-related bills
Wednesday. The committee favorably reported the legislation, along with
four unrelated bills by unanimous votes. The four bills would provide
transportation for NASA astronauts after they return from missions
until they are medically cleared to drive, formally authorize a NASA
commercial remote sensing data purchase program, allow NASA to jointly
fund research with other agencies, and have NASA study the development
of a space resources institute. The bills now go to the full House.
(3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Chandra and Hubble Budget Levels to
Decline</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
NASA is defending plans to reduce the budgets of two venerable space
telescopes amid sharp criticism from the science community. NASA's
fiscal year 2025 budget proposal sought a 40% cut in the budget for the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory and a smaller reduction in the budget for the
Hubble Space Telescope. NASA officials said at an advisory committee
meeting Wednesday that the agency's overall budget can no longer
support funding those missions at existing levels. <br />
<br />
NASA is planning to convene a "mini senior review" that, by the end of
May, will make recommendations on ways to cut back operations of the
missions to fit within reduced funding levels, which would involve
turning off some instruments. Astronomers, though, remain sharply
critical of the proposal, particular its effects on Chandra, which some
argue could lead to the telescope's shutdown and jeopardize X-ray
astronomy in the U.S. in general. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Announces Selection of 10 CubeSat
Missions for International Space Station Deployment </span>(Source:
Space Daily)<br />
NASA has chosen 10 small research satellites from a diverse array of
educational and research institutions across eight states for
deployment to the International Space Station. This initiative aims to
enhance educational and scientific exploration, foster technological
progress, and support workforce development. Click <a href="https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Announces_Selection_of_10_CubeSat_Missions_for_International_Space_Station_Deployment_999.html">here</a>.
(3/19) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">With the Space Station, She Found 3
Careers</span> (Source: Boeing)<br />
Laurie Morrow always knew she didn’t want to live anywhere but her
hometown of Houston. That hasn’t stopped her from progressing in her
career or enabling a better future for humanity. The Boeing engineering
manager joined the International Space Station when the program was
just getting started. As the ISS and its missions have evolved, so has
Morrow’s professional journey. Click <a href="https://www.boeing.com/features/2024/03/space-station-careers?utm_source=emaildatabase&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=isscareers&utm_content=3072024&utm_bu=bds-space&utm_topic=iss&utm_audience=space">here</a>.
(3/8) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">DIU Funds Beyond-LEO Projects by Blue
Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Spacebilt</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is funding three projects by
companies to explore in-space services. DIU said this week it is
funding projects by Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and Spacebilt to
explore ways to create a more robust space infrastructure that can
support military operations beyond low Earth orbit. That includes
DarkSky-1, a flight of Blue Origin's Blue Ring orbital transfer
vehicle, as soon as this summer. The other projects include refueling
interfaces developed by Northrop's SpaceLogistics subsidiary on
military spacecraft and studies of in-space assembly and manufacturing
by Spacebilt, formerly known as Skycorp. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Commercial Strategy Coming
Soon</span> (Source: Air and Space Forces)<br />
The Space Force's long-awaited commercial space strategy is slated for
release within a month. Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A.
Guetlein said at an event Wednesday that the Commercial Space Strategy
should be published "within the next month." That strategy will outline
plans for a Commercial Augmented Space Reserve, an approach modeled on
the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to guarantee the military access to
commercial space capabilities during a conflict. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Capella Focusing on International
Government Customers</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
Capella Space sees international governments as new customers for its
radar imagery. While the U.S. government remains a key customer,
Capella Space CEO Frank Backes said at the Satellite 2024 conference
Wednesday that foreign governments are emerging as a significant driver
of future growth, with the Japanese government the company's
second-biggest customer after the U.S. The company is also pursuing
opportunities to build SAR satellites for the United Kingdom and the
United Arab Emirates. Both nations are looking to purchase satellites
that they can operate independently and integrate into their national
space architectures. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Switzerland's Swissto12 Expanding
Production</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
Small GEO satellite manufacturer Swissto12 is expanding production
facilities. The company announced plans this week to add 1,200 square
meters of production space to an existing 4,500-square-meter site at
its headquarters in Renens, Switzerland. The expansion will support the
production of its dishwasher-sized HummingSat spacecraft and radio
frequency subsystem products. The company has four of those spacecraft
under construction for Intelsat and Viasat for launch in 2026. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Slingshot Aerospace Among "Most
Innovative" Companies </span>(Source: Fast Company)<br />
Fast Company has named Slingshot Aerospace one of its "most innovative"
companies for 2024. "We are building the common operating picture for
space," says Audrey Schaffer, the company's VP of strategy and policy.
By pulling in data from multiple sources and using machine learning and
artificial intelligence tools, the company can “make smart predictions
about where objects are going to be in space and identify anomalous
behavior," she says. (3/19) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Benchmark Space Systems Achieves
Orbital Deployment of Xantus Electric Propulsion System </span>(Source:
Space Daily)<br />
Benchmark Space Systems has announced the successful deployment of its
Xantus electric propulsion system aboard Orion Space Solutions' 12U
cubesat in low Earth orbit (LEO). This development marks the first
space-based operation of Benchmark's electric propulsion technology,
launched via the SpaceX Transporter-10 rideshare mission. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Eutelsat and Intelsat Forge $500M
Partnership to Expand OneWeb Constellation </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
Eutelsat Group has formalized a major multi-year partnership with
Intelsat, investing up to $500 million over seven years into the OneWeb
constellation. This collaboration, starting in mid-2024, guarantees
$250 million with an initial $45 million deal already in place and an
option for an additional $250 million. This strategic alliance enables
Intelsat to integrate OneWeb's LEO Network with its own Geostationary
Orbit (GEO) and terrestrial networks. The integration aims to enhance
service offerings across networks, government, and mobility sectors,
promising unparalleled customer solutions. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">RocketStar Unveils Fusion-Enhanced
Electric Thruster for Spacecraft</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
In a leap forward for space propulsion technology, RocketStar Inc. has
demonstrated its FireStar Drive, an advanced spacecraft electric
propulsion unit that leverages nuclear fusion to enhance pulsed plasma
propulsion. By introducing aneutronic nuclear fusion into its
water-fueled pulsed plasma thruster, the FireStar Drive markedly
improves performance, utilizing high-speed protons from ionized water
vapor. When these protons interact with boron nuclei, it triggers
fusion, producing high-energy carbon that decays into alpha particles,
thereby boosting thrust. (3/21)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Kayhan Space Revolutionizes University
Space Programs with Pathfinder Classroom</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
Kayhan Space has announced the launch of its Pathfinder Classroom, a
pioneering space traffic coordination (STC) platform. Designed for
university space programs, this platform enables autonomous assessment
of satellite conjunctions and collision avoidance, addressing the
urgent need for space situational awareness in the face of increasing
orbital congestion. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Genesis and LEO-PNT: Pioneering the
Future of Precision Navigation</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
ESA announced the launch of two groundbreaking missions, Genesis and
LEO-PNT, under its FutureNAV program. With a total investment of €233
million, these missions are poised to elevate Europe's stature in the
satellite navigation arena, catering to the burgeoning demand for more
resilient and precise navigation systems worldwide. <br />
<br />
A consortium of 14 entities led by OHB Italia S.p.A. has been awarded a
contract worth €76.6 million for the Genesis mission. This
collaborative effort, supported by Italy, Belgium, France, Switzerland,
Hungary, and the UK, is tasked with the development, manufacture,
qualification, calibration, launch, and operation of the Genesis
satellite, encompassing all its payloads. Set for launch in 2028, the
Genesis mission is expected to usher in a new era of scientific
exploration, significantly enhancing the International Terrestrial
Reference Frame (ITRF) with unparalleled accuracy.<br />
<br />
ESA has committed €156.8 million towards the development of the LEO-PNT
mission through two separate contracts. This mission will see the
creation of two end-to-end low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and
timing (LEO-PNT) in-orbit demonstrators, encompassing the design and
development of satellites and payloads, ground segment, test user
segment, and satellite launches. Led by GMV Aerospace and Defence
S.A.U. and Thales Alenia Space France S.A.S, these projects involve
over 50 entities from 14 countries, showcasing a blend of seasoned
industry veterans and innovative new players in space technology. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lockheed Martin Eyes Growth in
Satellite Business Through Partnerships</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
Lockheed Martin is looking to team up with more commercial space
companies as it aims to stay ahead of the curve in areas like
intelligence, surveillance, communications, and small satellites.
“We’re looking for strategic partners,” said Robert Lightfoot,
president of Lockheed Martin Space. “We’re interested in talking with
anyone who has an advantage in those areas from a space perspective.”<br />
<br />
The $67 billion aerospace and defense giant wants to work with
commercial companies with expertise in intelligence and surveillance
payloads, as well as communications payloads for satellites, as it
looks to meet growing government demand for resilient space-based
capabilities. Lightfoot highlighted partnerships Lockheed has already
forged through venture investments in companies like launch provider
ABL Space; positioning, navigation and timing startup Xona Space
Systems, and small satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS Cargo Launch Carries
CASIS-Sponsored R&D</span> (Source: CASIS)<br />
SpaceX's 30th ISS resupply mission carries more than 40 payloads
sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, including cartilage repair,
retinal gene therapies, neurological disease treatments,in-space
production applications projects, technology demonstrations,
student-led inquiries and technology testing on external platforms.
(3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ohio County Grant Approved for Blue
Abyss Astronaut and Deep-Water Facility</span> (Source: Agility)<br />
Blue Abyss and the City of Brook Park have announced the approval by
the Cuyahoga County Council of a $450,000 economic development grant in
support of the planned $250M facility. The recoverable grant is 100%
funded by Cuyahoga County Council’s Community Development Fund. Its
primary goal is to assist in funding pre-development costs for the
project which is anticipated to create approximately 200 new jobs in
northeast Ohio and deliver significant value to the region over time. <br />
<br />
This value was demonstrated through an economic and fiscal impact study
presented to the council, undertaken by the Kent State University,
Department of Economics. The project will include constructing the main
astronaut and deep-water training facility, a hotel, a planetarium, and
a long-arm centrifuge building totalling approximately 300,000 square
feet. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hiring Booms at SpaceX and Blue Origin
Making It Hard for NASA to Attract Talent</span> (Source: Bloomberg)<br />
SpaceX and Blue Origin LLC are competing to launch satellites and take
humans to the moon. They are also paying big salaries to hire so many
young and tireless engineers that old-line aerospace employers like
Boeing Co. and NASA are finding it harder to fill positions. Most
aerospace students really covet jobs at SpaceX and Blue Origin,
recruiters say. The private firms are run by two of the three richest
men in the world, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who ultimately imagine
people living and working in Earth’s orbit and on the surface of Mars.
(3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Tourism Firm Announces Saudi
Test Flight Ahead of Out-of-This-World $164,000 Orbital Experiences</span>
(Source: Arabian Business)<br />
Saudi tourists could soon be offered an out-of-this-world “near-space”
experience with stratospheric trips 32km above the surface of Earth.
HALO Space announced it will blast off a sixth test flight in Saudi
Arabia this June with conditional approval from the Communications,
Space and Technology Commission (CST). The near space tourism company
specialises in stratospheric commercial flights says this is a
significant milestone for the near-space sector and launch HALO’s
second real-size prototype capsule 32km above the Earth’s surface.
(3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Nuclear Weapons in Space are Bad News
for the Entire Planet</span> (Source: The Verge)<br />
A nuclear weapon in space would cause much more destruction than
previous anti-satellite weapons tests, as existing space-based weapons
typically destroy just one satellite at a time. In the age of huge
satellite constellations such as Starlink, knocking out a single
satellite is more of an annoyance than a major threat. To destroy
satellites at scale, you need a different weapon, such as a directed
energy weapon based on the ground. Or, you could use a nuclear weapon
in space, which creates not only shock effects but also heat,
radiation, and an electromagnetic pulse — giving it the ability to take
out or impair entire networks. (3/20)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Sees Progress on Blue Origin’s
Orbital Reef Life Support System</span> (Source: NASA)<br />
A NASA-funded commercial space station, Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef,
recently completed testing milestones for its critical life support
system as part of the agency’s efforts for new destinations in low
Earth orbit. The four milestones are part of a NASA Space Act Agreement
originally awarded to Blue Origin in 2021 and focused on the materials
and designs for systems to clean, reclaim, and store the air and water
critical for human spaceflight.<br />
<br />
NASA is working closely with commercial companies to develop new space
stations capable of providing services to NASA and others, which will
ensure that the U.S. maintains a continuous human presence in low Earth
orbit and provides direct benefits for people on Earth. (3/20)<br />
</span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-85419113897641783682024-03-20T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-20T11:07:20.769-04:00March 20, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blue Origin’s Blue Ring to Demonstrate
Operation Capabilities on DarkSky-1 Mission</span> (Source: Blue Origin)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidus Space Establishes Two-Way
Communications with LS-1 Satellite </span>(Source: Sidus Space)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Satellites for Quantum Communications</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Intelsat Buys More OneWeb Capacity</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Launches Lunar Data Relay
Satellite </span>(Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Announces Innovative Teams in
Wildfire and Climate Change Tech Challenge</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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 <a
href="https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Announces_Innovative_Teams_in_Wildfire_and_Climate_Change_Tech_Challenge_999.html">here</a>.
(3/19) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Comet Strike Theory That Just
Won’t Die</span> (Source: New York Times)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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 <a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/05/magazine/younger-dryas-impact-hypothesis-comet.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20240320&instance_id=118024&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=51978592&segment_id=161276&te=1&user_id=2b60489d736d6a38ac4b75f68f1ac1bc">here</a>.
(3/5) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pentagon’s Innovation Unit Steps Up
Role in Space Force’s Responsive Launch Program </span>(Source: Space
News)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ESA Picks Three NavSat Projects</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany's Blackwave Raises $6.6
Million for Carbon Fiber Space Components</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Purtugal's Neuraspace Offers Free
Space Traffic Management Software</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX to Sell Inter-Satellite Laser
Link Tech</span> (Source: Reuters)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Europe Finalizing Deal to Launch
Galileo NavSats on Falcon 9 Rockets</span> (Source: Politico)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India's SkyServe Partners with Loft
Orbital for Earth Observation Computing</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India/US NISAR Mission Launch Slips to
2025</span> (Source: Times of India)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Swift Astronomy Spacecraft Enters Safe
Mode</span> (Source: NASA)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ice Obscuring Optics on Euclid Space
Telescope</span> (Source: ESA)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">What is Emergent Gravity, and Will it
Rewrite Physics?</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
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?<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroid Bennu
Contains the Building Blocks of Life and Minerals Unseen on Earth </span>(Source:
LiveScience)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Boeing Begins Fueling Starliner
Capsule Ahead of 1st Astronaut Launch</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Northrop Grumman to Develop Concept
for Lunar Railroad</span> (Source: Northrop Grumman)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell Downplays
Potential Starlink Stock Listing</span> (Source: Bloomberg)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Loft Orbital and SkyServe Partner on
AI-Powered Earth Observation Application</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Canada Rises As A 21st Century Space
Power</span> (Source: Astralytical)<br>
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 <a
href="https://www.astralytical.com/insights/canada-rises-as-a-21st-century-space-power">here</a>.
(3/18) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ESA Contracts $253.6M for
Demonstration LEO Navigation Satellites From GMV, OHB, Thales Alenia</span>
(Source: Space Intel Report)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">While USSF Budget Dips, Funds for New
Nuclear Command and Control Satellites Jump</span> (Source: Air and
Space Forces)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Musk is a MAGA Megaphone and a Federal
Contractor. That’s a Problem</span> (Source: Washington Post)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Forget Jet Lag, it’s Time to Start
Worrying About Space Lag </span>(Source: The Telegraph)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Tourists and Crew Suffer High
Radiation Risks – Regulation is Needed to Protect Them</span> (Source:
The Conversation)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lockheed Martin Prepares to Loft
Military Mesh Networks Into Space</span> (Source: Aviation Week)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leveraging Microgravity to Unlock the
Underlying Causes of Neurodegenerative Diseases</span> (Source: CASIS)<br>
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)<br>
</span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-75415526410597261772024-03-19T05:30:00.002-04:002024-03-19T12:29:25.092-04:00March 19, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Planning Rapid Turnaround for
Next Starship Flight</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
SpaceX hopes to conduct the next launch of its Starship vehicle as soon
as early May, a schedule that will depend on how quickly it can get an
amended launch license. Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating
officer of SpaceX, said the company was still reviewing the data from
the vehicle’s third integrated launch March 14 but expected to be ready
to fly again soon. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The US Government Seems Serious About
Developing a Lunar Economy</span> (Source: Ars Technica)<br>
For the first time ever, the United States is getting serious about
fostering an economy on the Moon. NASA, of course, is in the midst of
developing the Artemis program to return humans to the Moon. As part of
this initiative, NASA seeks to foster a lunar economy in which the
space agency is not the sole customer. Last year, DARPA initated a
study, LunA-10, to understand how best to facilitate a thriving lunar
economy by 2035.<br>
<br>
In December, DARPA announced that it was working with 14 different
companies under LunA-10. These companies are assessing how services
such as power and communications could be established on the Moon, and
they're due to provide a final report by June. Last Thursday, DARPA
issued a "Request for Information" for technological capabilities that
could scale up lunar exploration and commerce.<br>
<br>
A whole host of conditions must be met for a lunar economy to thrive.
There must be something there that can be sold, be it resources, a
unique environment for scientific research, low-gravity manufacturing,
tourism, or another source of value. Reliable transportation to the
Moon must be available. And there needs to be a host of services, such
as power and communications for machines and people on the lunar
surface. (<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NRO Expects Even Lower National
Security Space Launch Costs Starting in FY25</span> (Source: Breaking
Defense)<br>
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) expects that the next round of
launches to be procured through the Space Force’s National Security
Space Launch (NSSL) will be even cheaper than current rates, which
already represent a major drop from prices only a decade ago, according
to the spy satellite agency’s deputy director.<br>
<br>
Under NSSL Phase 3, the Space Force will begin in fiscal 2025 to
contract with commercial launch providers for missions that will fly
starting in FY27. For the first time, the Space Force intends to select
three vendors of heavy-lift rockets, rather than only two as in
previous phases, to compete on a case-by-case basis for launch
contracts though FY29.<br>
<br>
“As everybody knows, the cost of launch has come down dramatically.
Where it used to be many hundreds of millions of dollars to get
something into space, we’re now seeing for larger rockets well under
$100 million, and $10 million dollars or less for some of the smaller
rockets,” Troy Meink said. (3/18)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">MDA Space Unveils AURORA</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br>
MDA introduced its innovative software-defined satellite series named
AURORA at the Satellite 2024 Conference in Washington, D.C. The AURORA
line signifies a leap forward in satellite technology, offering a mix
of flexibility and advanced functionality to enhance satellite
constellation performance, while minimizing both costs and time to
deployment. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leonid Capital Partners Invests $6.25
Million in Space Propulsion Innovator Phase Four</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
Leonid Capital Partners, an investment firm specializing in high-growth
tech ventures in the National Security sector, unveiled a $6.25 million
investment in Phase Four, a pioneering company at the forefront of
developing propulsion technologies for future space vehicles. Phase
Four is positioned at the vanguard of aerospace technology, driving
innovations in propulsion that promise to redefine speed and efficiency
in space missions. These advancements are set to unlock new
possibilities for orbital exploration and extend humanity's reach and
impact in space. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orbit Fab Prices Refueling Ports at
$30K Each</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Orbit Fab has set the pricing for a spacecraft refueling port. The
company said Tuesday it will offer its Rapidly Attachable Fluid
Transfer Interface, or RAFTI, fueling port for spacecraft for $30,000
each. RAFTI is designed to make it easier to refuel spacecraft on orbit
by providing a standardized interface. Orbit Fab recently completed
qualification testing of RAFTI, allowing it to deliver the first 100
RAFTI units to U.S. government and commercial customers over the next
year. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Benchmark Launches Propulsion Module
on Orion Cubesat </span>(Source: Space News)<br>
Benchmark Space Systems has launched its first electric propulsion
system. The company says its Xantus metal plasma thruster is on a 12U
weather observation cubesat launched earlier this month by Orion Space
Solutions. The millinewton-class Xantus thruster, which uses molybdenum
as propellant, will soon start operations, the company said. Benchmark
is preparing to deliver more than 50 of those thrusters to various
customers this year, with strong interest from developers of
microsatellites who want to use it for "precision maneuver"
applications. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Revolutionary Laser Technology Shapes
the Future of Space Exploration</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
A groundbreaking laser beam, reminiscent of a light sabre, is making
waves in technological advancements through its innovative guidance via
a hair-thin water jet, mirroring the function of traditional fibre
optics. The water jet's significant 'processing depth' facilitates the
parallel slicing of larger specimens, simultaneously providing
continuous cooling to the cut zone and the efficient removal of severed
materials. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">MatSing Elevates Satellite
Communications with Advanced Lens Antenna Technology</span> (Source:
Space Daily)<br>
MatSing unveiled its latest innovation aimed at transforming satellite
communications. The company has expanded its range of multibeam lens
solutions, historically renowned in the telecom sector, to accommodate
a wide array of satellite applications. This strategic advancement
leverages the unique multibeam and high-performance capabilities of its
Luneburg Lens technology, along with proprietary materials, to offer
unparalleled efficiency in satellite communication systems. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rivada Space Networks Unveils OuterNET</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br>
Rivada Space Networks has announced the launch of the OuterNET, its
groundbreaking low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation designed
to deliver the first-ever single, global, and omnipresent
communications network. "With OuterNET, we're making true global
wireless connectivity a reality for the first time," proclaimed Declan
Ganley, CEO of Rivada. This innovation not only symbolizes a leap into
a new era of connectivity but also embodies Rivada's refreshed brand
identity, inspired by the network's potential to transform global
communications. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SDA to Exclude Raytheon Satellites
From Tranche 1 Tracking Layer</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The Space Development Agency (SDA) will not include seven satellites
from Raytheon in a missile-tracking constellation. The agency said it
is "reevaluating and considering re-scoping" the contract with the
company to provide satellites for the Tranche 1 Tracking Layer. SDA did
not explain why Raytheon will not be delivering seven satellites the
company was expected to build under a $250 million contract SDA awarded
in March 2023.<br>
<br>
Industry sources said the company was at risk of having to absorb
higher-than-expected overruns due to increased costs on the fixed-price
contract. SDA ordered the satellites after previously selecting
L3Harris and Northrop Grumman to each provide 14 satellites for the
constellation. The loss of the Raytheon satellites should not
significantly impact the performance of the missile-tracking network,
SDA stated. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">GEO Operators Partner with Terrestrial
Providers to Challenge Starlink</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Operators of GEO communications satellites are turning to partnerships
with local service providers to better compete with SpaceX's Starlink.
Operators said on a panel at the Satellite 2024 conference Monday that
working with local providers allows them to better serve customers,
particularly in rural communities, where the providers can install and
replace hardware faster than the weeks it can take to ship and receive
a new Starlink terminal. The relatively high cost of Starlink terminals
is also an obstacle in markets where consumers have little disposable
income. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NRO Plans Mix of Large and Small
Satellites in Future Architecture</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The National Reconnaissance Office is pursuing a mix of large and small
spacecraft for its future architecture of spy satellites. Troy Meink
said the NRO sees value in leveraging new commercial capabilities for
certain missions where small satellites can meet requirements at lower
cost. However, the NRO will continue to invest in larger, more capable
satellites for critical needs. As an example, the NRO plans to launch a
small satellite on a Rocket Lab Electron later this week, followed next
week by a launch of one of its largest satellites on the final Delta 4
Heavy. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Belgium's Aerospacelab to Build NavSat
for Xona Constellation</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Belgian satellite manufacturer Aerospacelab will build the first
satellite for Xona Space Systems. The companies announced Tuesday that
Aerospacelab will build the satellite, part of Xona's planned
constellation to provide navigation services, at a facility
Aerospacelab is establishing in the U.S. The companies did not disclose
when the satellite would launch. The satellite is based on an
Aerospacelab bus called Versatile Satellite Platform, or VSP, with six
such spacecraft currently in orbit. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain's Startical Plans Air Traffic
Management Constellation</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A joint venture of two Spanish companies has ordered the first
satellites for a planned constellation for air traffic management
services. Startical, a joint venture of Spanish defense contractor
Indra and air navigation services provider Enaire, said Monday it
ordered a 20-kilogram satellite from GomSpace and a 110-kilogram
satellite from Kongsberg NanoAvionics. Both satellites are scheduled to
launch next year to demonstrate how they can be used to track aircraft
and provide VHF radio communications for them. Startical has proposed
deploying a constellation of more than 270 satellites to provide those
services. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina's Orbith Orders GEO
Broadband Satellite From Astranis</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Astranis has won another order for its small GEO broadband satellites.
Astranis announced Monday that Orbith, a remote connectivity provider
based in Argentina, had ordered a satellite for launch in 2025 as part
of the Block 3 series of five satellites by Astranis. Other customers
for Block 3 satellites include Thaicom, Orbits Corp. of the Philippines
and Mexican telco Apco Networks. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">GEO Demand Falls But Remains Relevant</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Manufacturers of GEO communications satellites argue that such
satellites are not going away despite reduced demand. During a
Satellite 2024 panel, executives acknowledged that orders had dropped
significantly in recent years, down to an average of about 10
satellites a year. Despite that decline, they said GEO satellites still
offer good economics compared to LEO constellations and can also
support multi-orbit solutions. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Kayhan Offers Space Traffic Software
to Universities</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Kayhan Space is offering a version of its space traffic coordination
software platform for universities. The company announced Tuesday its
Pathfinder Classroom platform, intended for use by universities
operating their own cubesats or for simulating spacecraft operations.
The company says that this version of its existing Pathfinder system
will help educate students on the importance of spaceflight safety
before they enter the workforce. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites
From California</span> (Source: LA Times)<br>
A Starlink launch Monday evening put on a show for many in the
southwestern United States. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space
Force Base at 10:28 p.m. Eastern, deploying 22 Starlink satellites. The
launch took place around dusk, creating a brilliant backlit plume as
the rocket ascended. That plume was seen throughout southern California
and as far away as Las Vegas and Phoenix. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Maxar Readies First WorldView Legion
Launch From California</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Maxar is finally ready to launch its first WorldView Legion satellites.
The company said Monday it shipped the first two Legion satellites to
Vandenberg for a launch as soon as next month on a Falcon 9. This marks
a crucial milestone for the WorldView Legion program, which has
suffered repeated setbacks since Maxar started developing the
spacecraft in 2017. Maxar is planning to launch six WorldView Legion
satellites, tripling its capacity to provide high-resolution imagery.
(3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Workforce Effort Expands</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
The Aerospace Corp. and the Space Foundation are joining forces to
expand the Space Workforce 2030 program. Aerospace started the Space
Workforce 2030 initiative in 2022, forming a coalition of about 30
member companies with the goal of promoting a more diverse and
inclusive workforce within the space industry. The expansion includes
several new initiatives such as increasing outreach to underrepresented
groups, providing educational opportunities like internships and
working with companies to promote inclusive hiring practices. Melanie
Stricklan, co-founder and former CEO of Slingshot Aerospace, will be
the first executive director of Space Workforce 2030. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Tom Stafford Passes at 93</span>
(Source: CollectSpace)<br>
Apollo and Gemini astronaut Tom Stafford has died. Stafford passed away
Monday at the age of 93 after an extended illness. Stafford was
selected in NASA's second class of astronauts in 1962 and he flew on
the Gemini 6A and Gemini 9A missions, followed by Apollo 10, a dress
rehearsal for the Apollo 11 landing. He was the U.S. commander of the
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975, the first joint crewed mission
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. A retired Air Force lieutenant
general, Stafford served on various committees and study groups up
until his death. (3/19)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China's Lunar Presence Could Threaten
US Satellites </span>(Source: Defense One)<br>
The US Space Force is wary of China's lunar ambitions, fearing that
operations on and around the Moon could introduce novel methods of
attacking US satellites, with both nations aiming to send astronauts
there by the decade's end. Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir expressed
concern over unexplored potential attack vectors from lunar or cislunar
positions. (3/18) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Accelerating Starship</span> (Source:
Space Review)<br>
SpaceX conducted the third integrated test flight of its Starship/Super
Heavy vehicle last week, going further and faster than before. Jeff
Foust reports on the company’s progress on the vehicle but also its
need to move even faster in its development. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=d6eab6ccfc&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/18) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Texas Space Commissions, From
Conestoga to Starship </span>(Source: Space Review)<br>
The Texas state government has reestablished a space commission more
than two decades after the previous one was shut down. Thomas Matula
argues that a priority for the new commission should be to establish a
launch site for the state’s growing space industry. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=9c135b8db9&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/18) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Proposing a National Naming
Competition for Our Lunar Exploration Program</span> (Source: Space
Review)<br>
Names carry with them meanings, be they for people or spaceflight
programs. In the first of two-part essay, Cody Knipfer looks at the
history of how NASA has named its various programs and missions. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=3fc83bf5c1&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/18) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Biden’s Tax Proposals Would Hurt
Commercial Space</span> (Source: The Hill)<br>
The idea of a wealth tax as proposed by Biden is that the government
would tax a proportion of unrealized capital gains enjoyed by the
wealthy. If the targeted assets rise in value, the government would
take 25 percent of that increase. The owner would not have to actually
sell the assets for the tax to be levied. The proposal would work at
cross purposes against another Biden administration policy, encouraging
the growth of the commercial space sector to further American space
exploration goals. <br>
<br>
If Congress were to pass Biden’s tax increases, SpaceX, Blue Origin,
and a host of other commercial space companies would not have as much
money available to build rocket ships and lunar landers as they
otherwise would. NASA’s space effort, including maintaining the
International Space Station, depends on the commercial space sector,
run primarily by billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, to operate
cost-effectively. The Biden administration is faced with a choice. It
can either institute draconian tax increases against the private sector
and wealthy Americans or have a vigorous, well-funded space effort
powered by commercial space companies. It cannot have both. (3/17)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">For Space Force to Succeed, It Needs
Starships from SpaceX</span> (Source: National Interest)<br>
An operational and robust Starship program denies both China and Russia
some of their targeted goals in space. A safe and consistent Starship
program for the military would also grant newfound capabilities to the
US military: a rapidly deployable, reusable heavy-lift system for the
rapid transportation of troops and equipment—at hypersonic speeds—from
one location to another. Such a capability could help win future wars,
where degraded environments would likely prevent the US military from
employing traditional power projection methods. <br>
<br>
All this is made possible by one, relatively small American firm,
SpaceX. If Space Force means to be a serious player within the military
bureaucracy it needs to do more than just defend satellites. It needs
to develop a manned spaceflight and rapid spaceborne transportation
capability. Only by purchasing a block of militarized Starships from
SpaceX can this happen. Whether Washington wants to admit it or not,
the era of space warfare is here. And Starship will play a vital role
in winning that space war. (3/17)<br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-31921015295548009142024-03-18T10:27:00.004-04:002024-03-18T10:27:40.770-04:00March 18, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Turion Closing in on Initial SSA
Service From First Satellite</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Prepares Another Lunar Farside
Mission</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Perseverance Collecting Dirt for Mars
Sample Mission</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Peregrine Payloads Returned Useful
Data Despite No Lunar Landing</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Japan to Land Two Astronauts on
Artemis Moon Missions</span> (Source: Nikkei)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China's Military, State Media Slam
U.S. After Report on SpaceX Spy Satellites </span>(Source: Reuters)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Former Amazon, Flexport Exec Tim
Collins Joins Blue Origin as Supply Chain Chief</span> (Source:
GeekWire)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Musk Unveils "Spin" to Safeguard Space
Travelers on Their Way to Mars and Beyond</span> (Source: WPN)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How Do Astronauts Sleep on ISS While
Experiencing 16 Sunrises and Sunsets in a Single Day?</span> (Source:
Hindustan Times)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Working on Giant Rail Gun to
Shoot Astronauts Into Space</span> (Source: Futurism)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A Single Meteorite Smashed Into Mars
and Created 2 Billion Craters</span> (Source: New Scientist)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Puts Latest Solar Technology to
the Test for an Upcoming Space Mission: 'Big Power for Small Spacecraft'</span>
(Source: TCD)<br>
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." <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How a West Virginia Story Inspired
Jeff Bezos to Create Blue Origin</span> (Source: WOWK)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Necessary Collaboration between
Robots and Humans in Space Exploration</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
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?<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Seeks New Partners for
$986 Million OSP-4 Launch Services Contract</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Stratolaunch sets sights on hypersonic
speeds for next Talon-A Test</span> (Source: Defense News)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-78448534035963088822024-03-17T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-17T13:23:38.648-04:00March 17, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arabsat and Aldoria Collaborate on
Enhancing Space Safety and Security</span> (Source: Arabsat)<br>
Arabsat, the leading satellite operator in the Arab world, and Aldoria,
a pioneering space situational awareness company, announced at LEAP
2024, the world's most attended tech event (Saudi Arabia), the signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on enhancing
space safety and security. This MoU is one of the fruitful outcomes of
the 1st Space Debris Conference in Saudi Arabia held in Riyadh on
February 11-12 and organized by the Saudi Space Agency. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Redwire Partners with Eli Lilly on
Second Mission for Chronic Diseases Research </span>(Source: Redwire)<br>
Jacksonville-based Redwire is partnering with Eli Lilly on a second
spaceflight mission using its in-space pharmaceutical manufacturing
platform, PIL-BOX. On this second mission (PIL-02)Lilly researchers
will be conducting an experiment aimed at accelerating the discovery of
novel medicines against chronic diseases. Following the successful
results of the PIL-01 experiment, which demonstrated that microgravity
benefited insulin crystal growth, Lilly researchers will use the PIL-02
mission to expand their understanding of crystal formulations and how
they impact overall drug discovery and development. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Step Toward Ecosystem for Laser
Satellite Communication in The Netherlands</span> (Source: TNO)<br>
TNO and FSO Instruments today announced that they have entered into
license and cooperation agreements. Under the agreements FSO
Instruments will obtain worldwide rights to industrialize and
commercialize TNO’s laser satellite communication technology. This
optical technology enables much faster and more secure broadband
connectivity than the radio frequencies that are currently used. The
agreement marks both parties’ commitment to build up a long-term
partnership to establish an European ecosystem for laser satellite
communication, based in the Netherlands. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Yahsat to Bring Satellite Connectivity
to Standard Smartphones </span>(Source: Yahsat)<br>
Yahsat and e& UAE signed a Memorandum of Understanding under its
Direct-to-Device (D2D) strategy. The collaboration includes exploring
various initiatives and projects concerning Yahsat’s planned D2D
ecosystem to enable voice, texting, and data satellite connectivity for
standard smartphones. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Winners of Small Space Debris Global
Challenge Announced</span> (Source: Freelancer)<br>
Innovative solutions aimed at tracking and remediating debris in
low-Earth orbit were awarded a share of $120,000. Global freelancing
marketplace Freelancer.com and Ensemble Consultancy are thrilled to
announce the winners of the Detect, Track, and Remediate: The Challenge
of Small Space Debris competition. Click <a
href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQe3r-z8UWPUmmfc9H_rzw7eI8gQoRqoeNLLzt1HMzE6_PUY3TmcfaKNghSdxLNR-_sSG1ChdAgRFDM/pub">here</a>.
(3/14) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thales Alenia Space Will Develop the
Radar Instrument for ESA’s 10th Earth Explorer Harmony Mission</span>
(Source: Thales Alenia)<br>
Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo
(33%), has signed a first 7M€ contract with ESA to develop the Earth
Observation Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument to be embarked on
the two Harmony satellites, ESA’s 10th Earth Explorer mission.<br>
<br>
This bridging phase contract is the first step towards the final
contract for the overall SAR implementation phase. Under this contract,
Thales Alenia Space will lead a diversified European industrial
consortium to design, develop and validate the C-Band SAR instruments
and will also be responsible of the C-Band digital electronic and
antenna tiles to be embarked on both Harmony satellites, expected to be
launched aboard a Vega-C launch vehicle by 2029. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">GomSpace North America Announces Next
Phase of Satellite Partnership with SAIC</span> (Source: GomSpace)<br>
GomSpace North America has announced the next milestone of a long-term
partnership with SAIC, the $7 billion Federal contractor headquartered
in Reston, Virginia. The companies announced a strategic partnership in
2023, and now SAIC has purchased a satellite kit from GomSpace which
SAIC will integrate into a specialized satellite at their space
development center. GomSpace engineers and scientists will work with
SAIC personnel. GomSpace has produced robust and reliable satellites
and components for over 15 years. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FCC Advances Supplemental Coverage
from Space Framework</span> (Source: FCC)<br />
The FCC today adopted final rules to establish a new regulatory
framework to revolutionize connectivity across the United States.
The world’s first supplemental coverage from space (SCS) framework
leverages cutting-edge satellite technology to extend the reach of
wireless networks to remote areas. This will enable
collaborations between wireless carriers and satellite operators to
make sure smartphone users stay connected even in areas where there is
no terrestrial mobile service. <br />
<br />
Through today’s action, the FCC takes the first step in establishing
clear and transparent processes to support these services.
Connecting consumers to essential wireless services where traditional
mobile services are not available can be lifesaving in remote locations
and can open up innovative opportunities for consumers and
businesses. This action also builds on the Commission’s efforts
to promote innovative and collaborative use of radio spectrum
resources, particularly as communications systems converge towards a
single network future. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Examining Florida's Toxic Triangle and
Its Impact on the Space Coast </span>(Source: Advocates Voice)<br />
The space industry's legacy of environmental degradation continues to
haunt the region, as accidental spills and outdated sewage facilities
contributed to the Indian River Lagoon's pollution. Heavy metals,
mercury, chlorinated solvents, and other industry pollutants have
impacted local waterways. A remedial investigation found concentrations
of TCE as high as 300,000 parts per billion in groundwater at the
Kennedy Space Center. The EPA considers less than 5ppb safe. The
environmental consequences associated with space shuttle flights
included the fallout of acidic mist and dust, contaminated holding
ponds, groundwater, soil pollution, and plumes that required monitoring
wells installed throughout Canaveral National Seashore.<br />
<br />
As a result, local residents remain concerned about the impact of space
launches on the surrounding ecosystem. It is important to note that
rocket engines using hydrocarbon fuels produce soot, which absorbs
ultraviolet light and can potentially heat the stratosphere, affecting
the conditions on the ground. Industry leaders often claim that
research is still playing catch-up and that the full extent of the
potential damage is not yet fully understood, leaving many questions
unanswered. Looking ahead, the number of space tourism flights is
expected to soar in the next decade, with multiple flights occurring
daily.<br />
<br />
Over the years, several investigations have been conducted into disease
clusters in Brevard County. These include a high incidence of leukemia
cases in children near a Superfund site in Palm Bay, a high rate of
Hodgkin's Lymphoma in teens near Patrick military base in South Patrick
Shores, ALS among workers at Kennedy Space Center, and a concerning
situation of blood cancer and asthma in Port St. John situated between
two power plants. These investigations shed light on the health
challenges faced by different communities in Brevard County. (3/11)<br />
<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-26454954567893807362024-03-16T05:30:00.004-04:002024-03-16T12:33:46.099-04:00March 16, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Looks to Ramp Up Space
Mobility, Logistics Research in FY-25</span> (Source: Defense Scoop)<br>
The Space Force wants to kick-start funding in fiscal 2025 for two
space mobility and logistics projects — including R&D of on-orbit
refueling capabilities and an effort to use rockets to carry supplies
across the world. The two initiatives fall under the service’s space
access, mobility and logistics (SAML) portfolio, which in total is
requesting $20 million in research, development, test and evaluation
funds in FY ’25.<br>
<br>
According to the Space Force’s budget justification documents, the
focus of the program through 2026 will be to “establish the
foundational capability areas through RDT&E, technology
demonstrations, operational integration and fielding of Point to Point
Delivery (P2PD) services and on-orbit mobility services, to include
refueling.” The service wants $16 million for work on in-orbit
servicing and refueling technology, budget documents show. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Air Force, Space Force Budgets Fall
Far Short of Need</span> (Source: Air and Space Forces)<br>
Last month, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall warned attendees
at AFA’s Warfare Symposium: “We are out of time. We are out of time. We
are out of time…For at least two decades, China has been building a
military that is … purpose-built to deter and defeat the United States
if we intervene in the western Pacific.” <br>
<br>
Echoing similar themes, President Joe Biden began last week’s State of
the Union address warning of the severe threats to America’s security
abroad, quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the eve of World War
II: “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the
Union.” Kendall and Biden are correct. China, Russia, Iran, and others
pose a dire threat to our nation. Yet the fiscal 2025 budget they
submitted to Congress is woefully inadequate to confront those
challenges—especially for the Department of the Air Force. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Guardians Just Got Their
Own Service-Specific Physical Training Uniforms</span> (Source: Yahoo!)<br>
Space Force Guardians have finally received their own physical training
uniforms that will distinguish their identity while working out and
while at basic military training. On March 8, trainees at Joint Base
San Antonio-Lackland's Guardian boot camp were the first to receive the
new uniforms. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX is Building Spy Satellite
Network for US Intelligence Agency, Sources Say</span> (Source: Reuters)<br>
SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a
classified contract with a U.S. intelligence agency, five sources
familiar with the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between
billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's space company and national
security agencies. The network is being built by SpaceX's Starshield
business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the
National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), sources said.<br>
<br>
The contract is for a powerful new spy system with hundreds of
satellites bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a
swarm in low orbits, and that the spy agency that Musk's company is
working with is the NRO. Reuters was unable to determine when the new
network of satellites would come online and could not establish what
other companies are part of the program with their own contracts.. If
successful, the sources said the program would significantly advance
the ability of the U.S. government and military to quickly spot
potential targets almost anywhere on the globe. (3/16)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Scepticism Surrounds Russian Space
Nuke Allegations</span> (Source: EU Observer)<br>
If there is one point of agreement between the US intelligence
community and the space policy community, it's the seemingly low
confidence in recent warnings about Russia readying a nuclear weapon
for orbit. At the very least it would violate the UN's 1967 Outer Space
Treaty, one of the few agreements that keeps nuclear weapons in check.
At most, it would be impractical and dangerous. <br>
<br>
Pooling publicly available data, the best guess that a network of
researchers have come up with is not a space-based platform for a
nuclear weapon, but one with a nuclear power source. That is something
Russia has real-world experience with, and it is not an explicit
violation of the Outer Space Treaty. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leaked SpaceX Documents Show Company
Forbids Employees to Sell Stock if it Deems They’ve Misbehaved</span>
(Source: Tech Crunch)<br>
SpaceX requires employees to agree to some unusual terms related to
their stock awards, which have a chilling effect on staff, according to
sources and internal documents. That includes a provision that allows
SpaceX the right to purchase back vested shares within a six-month
period following an employee leaving the company for any reason. <br>
<br>
SpaceX also gives itself the right to ban past and present employees
from participating in tender offers if they are deemed to have
committed “an act of dishonesty against the company” or to have
violated written company policies, among other reasons. Employees often
aren’t aware of the “dishonesty” condition when they initially sign up
on the equity compensation management platform, one former employee
said.<br>
<br>
If SpaceX bars an employee from selling stock in the tender offers, the
person would have to wait until SpaceX goes public to realize cash from
the shares — and it’s unclear when that will happen, if it ever does.
Also, at SpaceX, if an employee was fired “for cause,” the company
stated it can repurchase their stock for a price of $0 per share. These
terms “keep everyone under their control, even if they have left the
company,” one former employee said. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Starship is Already the Most
Revolutionary Rocket Ever Built</span> (Source: Ars Technica)<br>
Starlink terminals on the ship were sending signals to satellites in
low-Earth orbit, which then sent them back to Earth. This is not a new
idea. For the last 40 years, NASA has used a small constellation of
Tracking and Data Relay Satellites to communicate with spacecraft,
beginning with the Space Shuttle. Starship was able to communicate with
these satellites upon its reentry, but it was only at a low data rate,
and it dropped out as the plasma thickened. The Starlink connection
remained longer and is what enabled the stunning video of reentry.<br>
<br>
What Thursday's revelatory reentry footage promises is a world in which
launch is cheap and abundant. No longer will we need to worry so much
about mass or volume, which have been tyrannical overlords to mission
planners since the inception of spaceflight nearly seven decades ago.
But even with those caveats, Starship is already the most revolutionary
rocket ever built. Because of a relentless focus on costs and cheap
building materials, such as stainless steel, SpaceX can likely build
and launch a fully expendable version of Starship for about $100
million. <br>
<br>
Once Super Heavy becomes reusable, you can probably cut manufacturing
costs down to about $30 million per launch. This means that, within a
year or so, SpaceX will have a rocket that costs about $30 million and
lifts 100 to 150 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. We could compare that
to some existing rockets. NASA's SLS, for example, can lift up to 95
tons to LEO. That's nearly as much as Starship. But it costs $2.2
billion per launch, plus additional ground system costs. So it's almost
a factor of 100 times more expensive for less throw weight. Also, the
SLS rocket can fly once per year at most. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why Didn't the SNP Help Scotland's
First Spaceport Get Off the Ground?</span> (Source: Daily Mail)<br>
A steady stream of UK Government ministers and representatives have
made the trip to Shetland in recent years and, clearly, were impressed
with what they saw. A £10million investment in SaxaVord was announced
in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget earlier this month.<br>
<br>
But Scottish Government backing for this home-grown success? Not so
much. Indeed, Mr Strang tells the Mail, it has ‘ignored’ and, at times,
even ‘briefed against’ his spaceport from the beginning. The SaxaVord
operation is now the clear leader in the race towards Europe’s first
orbital launch of a satellite-carrying rocket – but this is in spite,
not because, of Scottish Government activities, says Mr Strang. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How the 'NASA Nazis' Helped Transform
Sleepy Alabama Farming Town Into America's 'Rocket City'</span>
(Source: Daily Mail)<br>
Around 1,600 scientists were brought to the US through Operation
Paperclip, which was approved by President Harry Truman. Foremost among
the scientists was Wernher von Braun, a Nazi and member of the SS. Von
Braun was complicit in war crimes and played a leading role in the
development of the V-2 rocket, which was built using slave labor and
used by the Nazi regime to kill thousands of civilians. <br>
<br>
Von Braun and a team of his specialists were brought to the US in 1945
and initially based at Fort Bliss, Texas, where they worked on missile
systems. Historians have said about half of von Braun’s team of around
118 men were members of the Nazi party. Critics say bringing these men
to the US was an inexcusable decision - compounded by the fact their
Nazi backgrounds go largely unmentioned in lessons about America's
space history. The arrival of the Nazis was also difficult for their
Jewish colleagues at NASA. <br>
<br>
Another central figure to NASA's early achievements was Kurt Heinrich
Debus, another former SS member who was recruited through Operation
Paperclip. In Nazi Germany, Debus also played a central role in the
development of the V missiles. He went on to become the first director
of NASA's Launch Operations Center, which would later become the
Kennedy Space Center. Debus's biography notes that during his time as a
scientist in Germany, he once reported a colleague, Richard Crämer,
'for criticizing Hitler and the Nazi Party, resulting in the Crämer’s
conviction under the Treachery Law'. (3/16)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Massive Volcano “Hiding in Plain
Sight” on Mars</span> (Source: Cosmos)<br>
A giant volcano has been ‘hiding’ on the surface of Mars – but
scientists have only just identified the behemoth, as well as possible
glacier ice beneath its surface. The volcano has been provisionally
given the title “Noctis volcano” pending an official name. Noctis
volcano has been imaged repeatedly since 1971. But it has been eroded
almost beyond recognition. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacksonville's Redwire Looks to Larger
Deals and New Markets to Fuel Growth </span>(Source: Space News)<br>
Space infrastructure company Redwire plans to continue its growth and
its push to profitability by seeking larger contracts for its lines of
components while moving up the value chain, including a new satellite
design. In financial results released after the markets closed March
14, Redwire reported revenue of $243.8 million in 2023, a 51.9%
increase over 2022. <br>
<br>
Redwire’s plans for future growth involve both increased demand for its
current products and movement into new markets. That includes “winning
and delivering on increasingly larger orders,” such as a $142 million
contract it announced it won in the fourth quarter to provide its
Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) systems for an undisclosed satellite
manufacturer. The company announced it was forecasting $300 million in
revenue in 2024. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aethero Wants to Become the Space
Industry’s Intel or Nvidia</span> (Source: Tech Crunch)<br>
Satellite sensors collect an incredible amount of raw data, but
on-orbit compute limitations mean that operators have little way to
process this data in space. Aethero, a startup founded 13 months ago,
wants to change that. The startup is developing radiation-hardened edge
computers for on-orbit data processing and eventually even autonomous
decision-making. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS National Lab-Sponsored Study Tests
a Novel Gene Therapy for Vision Loss</span> (Source: CASIS)<br>
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness
in older adults, affecting more than 200 million people globally.
Patients in the intermediate stage of the disease currently lack an
effective treatment to improve vision or slow disease progression. Now,
a new gene therapy from biotech innovator Oculogenex, Inc. may change
that narrative by preventing and even reversing symptoms of this
pervasive condition. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Colliding Neutron Stars Hint at New
Physics That Could Explain Dark Matter</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
The collision of two neutron stars around 130 million light-years from
Earth, and the unique physics this merger created, may have shed new
light on dark matter. New research suggests the neutron star merger,
detected here on Earth as the gravitational wave signal GW170817, could
help place constraints on hypothetical particles called "axions," one
of the leading candidates for dark matter. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New NASA Astronauts Celebrate Moon
Missions, Private Space Stations as They Get Ready for Liftoff </span>(Source:
Space.com)<br>
Jack Hathaway and 11 other astronaut candidates — 10 from NASA and two
from the United Arab Emirates — finished 2.5 years of basic training
this month and are eligible for future missions. They have a rich array
of spaceflight possibilities to enjoy: possible moon or lunar space
station flights for the Artemis program, months-long missions on the
International Space Station (ISS) and missions to future commercial
space stations that are in development. Click <a
href="https://www.space.com/nasa-astronaut-class-23-artemis-moon-commercial-space-stations">here</a>.
(3/15) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches 6,000th Starlink
Satellite on Friday Night From Florida Spaceport </span>(Source:
Space.com)<br>
SpaceX tied its rocket-reuse record on Friday while placing its 6,000th
Starlink internet satellite into Earth orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket
carrying 23 more of the company's Starlink satellites launched at the
Cape Canaveral Spaceport. It was the 19th liftoff for this Falcon 9's
first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. That tied a
mark set this past December and matched for the first time last month.
(3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Debris From Burning Satellites Could
be Affecting Earth's Magnetic Field</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
The environmental impacts of spaceflight are becoming increasingly
clear as more and more spacecraft are launched into Earth's orbit. The
growing number of satellites burning up in Earth's atmosphere has
concerned scientists for years, and now a new paper explores how the
emerging shell of "conductive dust" around the planet that results from
satellite re-entries may affect Earth's protective magnetic field.<br>
<br>
The problem of increasing concentrations of metallic dust (or "plasma
dust") in Earth's upper atmosphere arises from interactions of the
fragile ionized gas that makes up Earth's upper atmosphere and the
microscopic ash particles left behind from the burn-up of meteors that
strike the planet as well as from satellites that spiral back after
running out of fuel at the end of their missions. The concern is that
at some point in the future, this conductive dust could create some
perturbations in the magnetosphere. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Delivers Science Instrument to
JAXA’s Martian Moons Mission</span> (Source: NASA)<br>
NASA’s Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE)
instrument, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
(APL) in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, will play a major role in the MMX mission, which aims to
characterize and determine the origin of Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos
and deliver a sample from Phobos to Earth. The instrument team received
the green light to ship MEGANE, marking the end of a demanding 6-year
design and development process. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff
Participates in Women in Space Roundtable</span> (Source: NASA)<br>
The National Space Council hosted the Women in Space Roundtable on
March 12, and Deputy Center Director Laurie Grindle from NASA’s
Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, was there to
welcome Second Gentleman Mr. Douglas Emhoff and moderate a panel
discussion. The discussion included a wide range of topics related to
women in space. The event was hosted by the South Bay Workforce
Investment Board in Hawthorne, California. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeff Bezos’s Rocket Company Could Race
SpaceX to the Moon</span> (Source: New York Times)<br />
At first glance, SpaceX seems to have a huge head start. A variation of
Starship is scheduled to take NASA astronauts to the surface of the
moon as soon as September 2026. By contrast, Blue Origin has yet to
launch anything into orbit, and its contract with NASA for a lunar
lander for astronauts is for a mission that is launching in 2030. But
Blue Origin might still get there first. SpaceX faces major challenges
with Starship, which is as tall as 16-story building, while Blue Origin
plans to send a smaller cargo lander to the moon by the end of next
year. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Scientists May Have Just Caught 7
Exotic 'Ghost Particles' as they Pierced Through Earth</span> (Source:
Space.com)<br />
Astronomers using the IceCube observatory, which is buried deep within
the ice of the south pole, have detected seven elusive and exotic
"ghost particle" candidates as they streamed through Earth. The signals
suggest these particles are astrophysical tau neutrinos; they act as
important messengers between powerful, high-energy celestial events and
us. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Research Suggests Our Universe Has
No Dark Matter</span> (Source: Phys.org)<br />
Rajendra Gupta used a combination of the covarying coupling constants
(CCC) and "tired light" (TL) theories (the CCC+TL model) to reach this
conclusion. This model combines two ideas—about how the forces of
nature decrease over cosmic time and about light losing energy when it
travels a long distance. It's been tested and has been shown to match
up with several observations, such as about how galaxies are spread out
and how light from the early universe has evolved.<br />
<br />
This discovery challenges the prevailing understanding of the universe,
which suggests that roughly 27% of it is composed of dark matter and
less than 5% of ordinary matter, remaining being the dark energy. "The
study's findings confirm that our previous work ("JWST early universe
observations and ΛCDM cosmology") about the age of the universe being
26.7 billion years has allowed us to discover that the universe does
not require dark matter to exist," explains Gupta. (3/15)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">KULR Announces Contract with Nanoracks
for Advanced Space Battery Development</span> (Source: KULR)<br />
KULR Technology Group announced it has been awarded a contract
exceeding $865,000 from Nanoracks (now part of Voyager Space’s
Exploration Segment). For Voyager, it brings KULR's cutting-edge, safe,
and innovative battery designs to the forefront of space technology,
under an expedited schedule. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Collaborates with Industry to
Advance Space Communications</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
The Communications Services Project (CSP) is leading NASA's efforts to
usher in a new era of space communications. Through strategic
partnerships with the commercial sector, CSP is focused on delivering
commercial space relay communications services for NASA missions
operating near Earth. With an ambitious target to integrate these
services into the Near Space Network by 2030, CSP has allocated $278.5
million to six domestic companies for the development and demonstration
of advanced space relay communication capabilities. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Artemis Mission Progresses with
SpaceX Starship Test Flight</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
SpaceX's Starship test launch was an important milestone toward
providing NASA with a Starship HLS for its Artemis missions. The
ability to test key systems and processes in flight scenarios like
these integrated tests allows both NASA and SpaceX to gather crucial
data needed for the continued development of Starship HLS," said Lisa
Watson-Morgan. This test accomplished several important firsts that
will contribute to the development of Starship for Artemis lunar
landing missions.<br />
<br />
One objective closely tied to future Artemis operations is the transfer
of thousands of pounds of cryogenic propellant between internal tanks
during the spacecraft's coast phase as part of NASA's Space Technology
Missions Directorate 2020 Tipping Point awards. This Tipping Point
technology demonstration is one of more than 20 development activities
NASA is undertaking to solve the challenges of using cryogenic fluids
during future missions. As a key step toward understanding how
super-cooled propellant sloshes within the tanks when the engines shut
down, and how that movement affects Starship's stability while in
orbit. (3/15)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Planet Labs Enhances Agricultural Data
with Daily Global PlanetScope Insights </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
Planet Labs announced enhancements to its Crop Biomass Planetary
Variable by incorporating daily global PlanetScope data. This
enhancement aims to provide agronomists and farmers with cloud-free,
analysis-ready data for a comprehensive view of agricultural fields. By
merging radar and optical signals, this tool facilitates a deeper
understanding of crop health and operational status. (3/14)<br />
</span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-87414035266383579622024-03-15T05:30:00.003-04:002024-03-15T11:19:11.875-04:00March 15, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Starship Mission Supported Various
Test Objectives</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
While in space on its suborbital trajectory, SpaceX opened a payload
bay door that will be used on later Starship vehicles for deploying
Starlink satellites. It also performed an in-space propellant transfer
demonstration as part of a NASA contract where it would move propellant
from one tank within the vehicle to another. SpaceX said it was
evaluating the data from both tests.<br>
<br>
SpaceX had planned to perform a brief relight of a Raptor engine on
Starship about 40 minutes after liftoff, but the company said on the
webcast that this test was skipped for reasons not immediately known.
The company later said the engine test was called off because of the
vehicle’s roll rates.<br>
<br>
Several minutes later, the vehicle started reentry. A camera mounted on
a flap on Starship provided dramatic images of the reentry, relayed
through Starlink satellites. Telemetry was lost about 49 and a half
minutes after liftoff when the vehicle was descending through an
altitude of 65 kilometers. SpaceX later said on the webcast that it
lost contact through both its own Starlink satellites as well as
through NASA TDRSS data relay satellites at the same time, speculating
that the vehicle may have broken up. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NOAA Office of Space Commerce Invites
SSA User Interface Demos for TraCSS Program </span>(Source: Executive
Gov)<br>
NOAA is calling on companies with existing space situational awareness,
or SSA, capabilities to demonstrate their technology’s viability for
the Traffic Coordination System for Space, or TraCSS, program. NOAA’s
Office of Space Commerce on Wednesday published a call for
demonstrations, which will take place on April 9-10 at the 2024
National Space Symposium in Colorado. OSC is looking for SSA
technologies that are compliant with requirements for graphic user
interfaces and RESTful web application programming interfaces. The
chosen platform will enhance the ability of TraCSS to manage space
flight traffic, safety, sustainability and international coordination.
(3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Barbara Jackson Joins NASA as Goddard
Space Flight Center’s Deputy CIO</span> (Source: Executive Gov)<br>
Barbara Jackson, a government information technology leader, has taken
on the role of deputy chief information officer at NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. In addition to her role as deputy
CIO, Jackson will also serve as deputy director of IT and
communications at Goddard. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Putin Says Setting Up a Nuclear Power
Unit in Space is a Priority for Russia</span> (Source: CNN)<br>
Russian President Vladimir Putin told government officials on Thursday
that space projects, including setting up a nuclear power unit in
space, should be a priority and get proper financing, according to
state news agency TASS. Russia “has good competencies and, moreover,
even has such reserves that we can be proud of, which we can count on
in the future,” Putin said during a meeting with members of the
government, pointing as an example to a nuclear power unit that would
operate in space. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FCC Approves Direct-to-Device Use of
Terrestrial Spectrum</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The FCC has approved rules to allow direct-to-device satellite
communications using terrestrial spectrum. FCC commissioners
unanimously approved Thursday the Supplemental Coverage from Space
(SCS) regulatory framework. The rules will allow satellite operators
like SpaceX to use radio waves from terrestrial mobile partners to keep
smartphone users connected outside cell tower coverage. SCS providers
would have to immediately cease operations if they interfere with a
mobile satellite services provider or terrestrial telco with primary
rights. The final rules approved by the FCC will go into force after a
final review and publication in the Federal Register in the coming
weeks. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sierra Space Building DoD/National
Security Business</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Sierra Space is looking to take a larger role in national security
space with dual-use spacecraft. The company says it has $1.3 billion in
defense orders, including a $740 million contract from the Space
Development Agency it won in January to produce 18 missile-tracking
satellites. Sierra Space says it is examining how it can make use of
spacecraft and related technologies originally developed for civil and
commercial applications, like its Dream Chaser spaceplane, for national
security applications. That includes what the Pentagon calls "space
access, mobility and logistics" or SAML services, which has $40 million
earmarked for it in the Space Force's 2025 budget proposal. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Taiwan Considers Homegrown Satellite
Options, Wary of Starlink</span> (Source: New York Times)<br>
Taiwan, wary of relying on Starlink, may develop its own satellite
communications network. The government is planning to launch its first
communications satellite in 2026, with a second to follow within two
years and several more test satellites in development. The satellites
would provide connectivity to back up a telecommunications
infrastructure reliant on undersea cables that could be severed in a
natural disaster or crisis with China. The country is also working with
SES and Eutelsat OneWeb on connectivity services, but some officials
say they worry that SpaceX might not make Starlink available in Taiwan
during a crisis because of Elon Musk's business interests in China.
(3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Transporter-Erector Problem
Scrubs Starlink Launch at Florida Spaceport</span> (Source: Florida
Today)<br>
SpaceX again scrubbed a Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites Thursday
because of a ground equipment issue. SpaceX called off the launch two
minutes before the scheduled liftoff Thursday evening from the Kennedy
Space Center, later stating that there was a problem with arms on the
transporter erector that cradle the rocket on the pad before launch.
The launch is now scheduled for 6:39 p.m. Eastern Friday. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force FY2025 Budget Includes $4
Million for Point-to-Point Rocket Cargo</span> (Source: Breaking
Defense)<br>
The Pentagon is taking the next step in a "rocket cargo" program. The
Space Force's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes $4 million for
the initiative, now called Point-to-Point Delivery, to support
continued research and development of the concept that would use
rockets to deliver cargo around the world in as little as an hour. The
Air Force Research Laboratory started the effort in 2021 and awarded
SpaceX a $102 million contract in early 2022 to study use of the
company's Starships for cargo delivery. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">South Korea Staffing Up New Space
Agency</span> (Source: Chosun Ilbo)<br>
South Korea is offering high salaries for staff of its new space
agency. The Korea Aerospace Administration, or KASA, plans to hire 120
people by May, when it formally starts operations, with a goal of
reaching 300 people later in the year. The director of the space agency
will receive a salary of nearly $190,000, the same as the country's
president, with the potential for additional compensation. KASA would
become the first South Korean agency where staff could earn more than
the president. The government says it is offering the high salaries to
attract talent, emphasizing the importance it is placing on growing the
country's space capabilities. (3/15)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Flying First on Ariane 6</span>
(Source: ESA)<br>
With Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket now at its spaceport in French
Guiana, the passengers it will launch to space are getting ready to be
added to the top of the tall new rocket. Ariane 6 will launch several
satellites, deployers and experiments from space agencies, companies,
research institutes, universities and young professionals on its first
flight.<br>
<br>
“Ariane 6 is designed to be versatile, offering space actors bespoke
launch options all while keeping costs down,” says Michel Bonnet, head
of Ariane 6 missions and system engineering and ESA’s lead for the
Ariane 6 inaugural flight. “The varied missions launching on the first
flight, from nine countries and dozens of organisations, are a perfect
demonstration of the team spirit behind this rocket and the design
ethos that underpins it.” (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Former Space Coast Congressman Running
for State House</span> (Source: Florida Politics)<br>
State Rep. Tyler Sirois is endorsing Dave Weldon for House District 32
in the Melbourne area. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Weldon for
his good work to expand the space program, improve healthcare for
Brevard veterans, preserve our environment, and protect our values in
Congress,” Sirois said. <br>
<br>
Weldon, a former U.S. Representative, is running to succeed state Rep.
Thad Altman. Altman cannot seek re-election due to term limits. Weldon
was first elected to the U.S. House in 1994, flipping a seat that had
been previously held by Democrat Jim Bacchus. He decided not to seek
re-election in 2008, when he endorsed then-state Sen. Bill Posey to
succeed him. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The World’s Most Expensive Meal Will
Cost You $495,000—and It Be Will Served in a Space Balloon</span>
(Source: Robb Report)<br>
Forget the freeze-dried space meals and Tang. One of the first
luxury-space tourism companies is hosting a meal aboard in the
stratosphere that is priced at $495,000 each. Now, they just need to
find a group of six to pay for what amounts as history’s most expensive
meal, on Earth or in space. SpaceVIP has enlisted chef Rasmus Munk,
whose Copenhagen-based restaurant Alchemist has earned two Michelin
stars since 2020, to cook one of his most impressive meals and serve as
host aboard a space balloon. <br>
<br>
Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune can seat eight passengers and a
captain. In honor of the occasion, the “astronauts” will be wearing
made-to-measure clothing by Ogier. Think stylish space suits. Space
Perspective plans to begin manned test flights by the end of this year,
with commercial flights starting in 2025. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leonardo Organizes Dedicated Space
Unit </span>(Source: Aviation Week)<br>
Leonardo is launching a dedicated space business unit to consolidate
its efforts in the space sector, addressing its previously "fragmented"
market presence through various joint ventures, as explained by CEO
Roberto Cingolani. "Basically, Leonardo can do everything in space. We
are in launchers. We are in satcoms [satellite communications]. We are
in satellite services. But the point is there was no clear identity,"
Cingolani said. (3/12) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aerospace Industry in Houston Set to
Boom as Numerous Projects Hit Key Milestones</span> (Source: ABC13)<br>
With new businesses moving in, missions incoming, and developments
locking in by the month, Houston aerospace industry officials expect
the city to be home to some of the world's most cutting-edge projects
and a space exploration hub. At NASA, along with a slate of new
missions taking place, the Johnson Space Center is planning a new
development called Exploration Park, which will be home to research and
testing for future space travel.<br>
<br>
There has yet to be a set timeline on when it could be built out, but
in February, NASA locked in two partnership agreements for the site.
Meanwhile, officials expect the Houston Spaceport to be home to many
new projects in the coming years, Szczesniak said. Spaceport officials
not only expect to add more businesses in the coming years - in a
pursuit to make the spot a destination - but companies located there
have plans to launch more of their creations into space. Meanwhile,
companies like Aegis Aerospace, a woman-owned business founded in 2021,
are adding to the commercial space sector. (3/14)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SDA Plans $25.5 Billion in Spending
Over the Next Five Years</span> (Source: Air and Space Forces)<br />
The Space Development Agency plans to spend roughly $25.5 billion from
2025 through the end of the decade building out its massive
constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, budget documents show. The
Space Force unveiled its fiscal 2025 budget request on March 11, with
the service’s $29.4 billion request marking its first-ever
year-over-year cut. <br />
<br />
SDA, the agency at the forefront of revolutionizing space acquisition
and driving the Space Force toward launching smaller satellites in
larger numbers, similarly saw a decline in spending, from 2024’s total
of $4.7 billion to $4.2 billion. After that, however, budget documents
project SDA’s funding rebounding quickly and reaching $6 billion by
fiscal 2027, followed by more than $5 billion in both 2028 and 2029.
(3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why This Space Force Buzzword Will
Endure</span> (Source: Forbes)<br />
Too often, a word or phrase becomes the “it” word in Washington, while
the issue it speaks to may never actually be addressed. In recent
years, though, one word emerged out of the space policy milieu –
resilience – that has become a remarkable exception. The seeds of our
desire for space resilience in this century were planted many years
before the birth of the Space Development Agency (SDA) five years ago,
the Space Force’s new purpose-built agency charged with providing it.
(3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Every War Is a Space War Now</span>
(Source: Geopolitical Monitor)<br />
The escalation of militarization and weaponization in outer space has
become an urgent issue of concern. The once-fictional notion of using
nuclear space weapons to incapacitate satellites with powerful energy
waves is now a tangible reality. Nations across the globe are making
unprecedented strides in both civilian space exploration and its
military application. <br />
<br />
According to the Secure World Foundation’s annual Global Counterspace
Capabilities report, there is a noticeable trend wherein an increasing
number of countries are harnessing space to bolster their military
capabilities and safeguard national security. This involves the
development of a wide array of defensive and offensive technologies
with dual-use applications.<br />
<br />
Notably, countries like France, India, Iran, Japan, and North Korea are
actively investing in counter-space programs, while major players such
as China, Russia, and the United States are leading the charge in
research, development, testing, and operationalizing systems and
weapons. This proliferation of capabilities significantly heightens the
risk of potential conflicts in space. (3/12)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Arizona Stratospheric Balloon Company
Opens Funding Round, Aims to Tap Into Space Tourism Market </span>(Source:
AZ Inno)<br />
A Tucson-based stratospheric balloon company has launched a new funding
round to advance flight capabilities and production of its remote
sensing platforms. World View in February opened a series D round with
an undisclosed initial investment by aerospace and defense company
Sierra Nevada Corp., along with participation from new and existing
investors. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Florida Space Race Could be in Store
if Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Expanding Spaceport Territory</span>
(Source: Orlando Business Journal)<br />
If Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a newly passed bill that activates more
spaceports across Florida, clients could have more options for
commercial launches and the Department of Defense will be able to grow
its Space Force presence in Florida. The bases will be added to the
roster of spaceports named in Florida Statutes: Patrick Space Force
Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Space Coast Regional
Airport — all in Brevard County — and Eglin Air Force Base in Northwest
Florida, Cape San Blas in Gulf County [part of Eglin AFB], and Cecil
Airport in Duval County. <br />
<br />
By definition, spaceports are “gateways to space, providing places for
both launch and re-entry. ... Typically, they also have a host of
associated facilities such as processing facilities, range assets, and
ground control centers, which can be located away from launch/re-entry
sites.” Following the passage of the bill, Long said Space Florida will
kick off an update to the 2018 strategic plan that will be completed in
about a year. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Editor's Note</span>:
There's little that Space Florida can do on such spaceport territories
that it cannot do elsewhere in the state. The agency has developed or
financed several facilities outside of such territories. I believe the
unique capabilities that come with a spaceport territory designation
are mainly aimed at hosting launch operations...something unlikely in
the new territories. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">After a Soft Lunar Touchdown,
Canadensys Plans More Missions to the Moon</span> (Source: SpaceQ)<br />
Technology from Ontario’s Canadensys Aerospace was recently on the
first U.S. Moon lander to make a soft touchdown in more than 50 years,
since the Apollo 17 human landing mission of 1972. Intuitive Machines’
robotic IM-1 mission, which included NASA payloads as well for the
agency’s Commercial Lunar Services Program (CLPS), touched down at the
south pole on the Moon on Feb. 22. "Our next mission of significance
will likely be the NASA Vertex mission," said Christian Sallaberger. <br />
<br />
"Canadensys is providing the multi-spectral microscope for this
mission, which will land in the Reiner Gamma region of the moon. This
area is very unusual, with swirling patterns in the surface regolith
and magnetic anomalies as well... We have already delivered our
instrument to APL some months ago. ...Another significant lunar mission
Canadensys is currently preparing is the Canadian Lunar Rover Mission.
Canadensys is leading a team of about 20 organizations across Canada to
design and build Canada’s first lunar rover, which will land near the
Moon’s south pole. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">‘Space Headaches’ Could Be a Real Pain
for Astronauts </span>(Source: Popular Science)<br />
Space travel is certainly not for the faint of heart, for many reasons
including its effects on physical health. It can potentially disturb
human immune systems and increase red blood cell death. It could also
increase headaches. Astronauts with no prior history of headaches may
experience migraine and tension-type headaches during long-haul space
flights–over 10 days in space. “Changes in gravity caused by space
flight affect the function of many parts of the body, including the
brain,” said W. P. J. van Oosterhout. <br />
<br />
“The vestibular system, which affects balance and posture, has to adapt
to the conflict between the signals it is expecting to receive and the
actual signals it receives in the absence of normal gravity.” The
changes to the brain’s balance and posture system, combined with
adjusting to zero gravity during the first week of space flight, “can
lead to space motion sickness in the first week, of which headache is
the most frequently reported symptom. Our study shows that headaches
also occur later in space flight and could be related to an increase in
pressure within the skull.” (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet the 24-Year-Old Coloradan
Building a ‘MapQuest’ for Space Missions</span> (Source: CPR)<br />
Don the goggles and ride along with a CU graduate student who’ll let
you hold a holographic sun in the palm of your hand. Dezell Turner
wants to use augmented reality to map trajectories in space. His
souped-up gaming laptop and that eyewear may someday help aerospace
companies chart new paths through the solar system. “I’m sort of trying
to build MapQuest for planning space missions,” he said.<br />
<br />
Turner often demonstrates his project, operating his computer while
visitors don the goggles to see colorful holograms of our sun and eight
planets, displayed to show their location at a given date and time,
down to the millisecond. Then, users move their fingers – think about
changing the size of a photo on a smartphone – to shift things around.
The next step, Turner said, would be for operators to interactively
draw possible routes for their vehicles through his virtual solar
system, and pick the ideal one. (3/14)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-86522692994333628582024-03-14T05:30:00.005-04:002024-03-14T15:28:54.191-04:00March 14, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">How India Will Become a Global Space
Hub?</span> (Source: Jaipur Dialogues)<br>
In a remarkable turn of events, the number of space startups in India
has skyrocketed from just one in 2014 to an astonishing 204 by 2024.
This exponential growth signifies the burgeoning interest and potential
within the Indian space sector. Despite its impressive achievements,
India currently lags far behind in the global space economy, which
currently values at $546 billion. To address this disparity, the Indian
government launched the Indian Space Policy 2023, paving the way for
private enterprises to carry out end-to-end activities, from launching
satellites and rockets into space to operating Earth stations. Click <a
href="https://www.thejaipurdialogues.com/featured/how-india-will-become-a-global-space-hub/">here</a>.
(3/14) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Leonid Capital Partners Bolsters Space
Portfolio with $6.25 Million Investment</span> (Source: Business Wire)<br>
Leonid Capital Partners, a leading investment firm focused on
high-growth technology companies working in the National Security
industry, today announced a new $6.25 million financing for Phase Four,
a revolutionary aerospace company developing advanced propulsion
systems for the next generation of space vehicles.<br>
<br>
Phase Four plays a critical role in the future of space and national
security. Their innovative propulsion technologies hold the potential
to revolutionize the government and commercial space industry, enabling
faster and more efficient missions, opening up new orbital regimes, and
expanding humanity’s impact on and reach beyond Earth. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Geopolitics – China and the Moon</span>
(Source: SpaceWatch Global)<br />
On March 6th, 2024, China submitted to the Working Group on Legal
Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of the
Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) a document
highlighting the country’s position towards the utilization of space
resources and indicated selected issues that should be addressed as a
matter of priory importance. The submission represents the first
official initiative taken by China to delineate its approach on the
regulation of space resources activities; unsurprisingly, this document
has received significant attention in the press and among scholars.
Click <a href="https://spacewatch.global/2024/03/spacewatchgl-geopolitics-china-and-the-moon/">here</a>.
(3/13) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Did ‘Alien’ Debris Hit Earth?
Startling Claim Sparks Row at Scientific Meeting</span> (Source: Nature)<br />
A sensational claim made last year that an ‘alien’ meteorite hit Earth
near Papua New Guinea in 2014 got its first in-person airing with the
broader scientific community on 12 March. At the Lunar and Planetary
Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas, scientists clashed over
whether a research team has indeed found fragments of a space rock that
came from outside the Solar System.<br />
<br />
In June 2023, Loeb led a privately funded expedition to the site that
used magnetic sledges to recover more than 800 metallic spherules from
the sea floor. About one-quarter of the spherules had chemical
compositions indicating that they came from igneous, or once-molten,
rocks. Of those, a handful were unusually enriched in the elements
beryllium, lanthanum and uranium. The researchers concluded that those
spherules are unlike any known materials in the Solar System1.<br />
<br />
However, Desch counters that the spherules could have come from an
asteroid impact in southeast Asia. Key to his proposal2 is a kind of
soil called laterite, which forms in tropical regions when heavy
rainfall carries some chemical elements from the topmost layers of soil
into deeper ones. This leaves the upper soil enriched in other
elements, including beryllium, lanthanum and uranium — similar to the
composition of the spherules collected by Loeb and his colleagues.
Desch says that an asteroid known to have struck the region around
788,000 years ago3 probably hit lateritic rock and created the molten
blobs found by Loeb’s team. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Expanding Lunar Exploration with
Upgraded SLS Mega Rocket Design</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
As NASA prepares for its first crewed Artemis missions, the agency is
making preparations to build, test, and assemble the next evolution of
its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The larger and power powerful
version of SLS, known as Block 1B, can send a crew and large pieces of
hardware to the Moon in a single launch and is set to debut for the
Artemis IV mission.<br />
<br />
"Each of the evolutionary changes made to the SLS engines, boosters,
and upper stage of the SLS rocket are built on the successes of the
Block 1 design that flew first with Artemis I in November 2022 and
will, again, for the first crewed missions for Artemis II and III."
Early manufacturing is already underway at NASA's Michoud Assembly
Facility in New Orleans, while preparations for the green run test
series for its upgraded upper stage are in progress at nearby Stennis
Space Center in Mississippi. <br />
<br />
Block 1B features two big evolutionary changes that will make NASA's
workhorse rocket even more capable. The in-space stage used to send the
first three Artemis missions to the Moon, called the interim cryogenic
propulsion stage (ICPS), uses a single engine and will be replaced by a
larger, more powerful four-engine stage called the exploration upper
stage (EUS). The other configuration change is a universal stage
adapter that connects the rocket to the Orion spacecraft. Together,
those upgrades will increase the payload capability for SLS from 59,000
pounds to approximately 84,000 pounds. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidus Space Receives Signals from
LizzieSat in Orbit</span> (Source: Sidus Space)<br />
Sidus Space announced it received multiple signals from its LizzieSat
satellite after launch and deployment to low Earth orbit as part of
SpaceX’s Transporter-10 Rideshare mission on March 4. The Sidus mission
and launch team received multiple signals on its FCC approved prime
radio frequency and continues to monitor communications with the
satellite from its operations center in Merritt Island, Florida. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Final Mission: Delta IV Heavy Rocket
Set for Historic Launch with NROL-70 Payload</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br />
The Space Systems Command (SSC) of the U.S. Space Force, in partnership
with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and United Launch
Alliance (ULA), has announced the scheduled launch of the NROL-70
mission. This event, set for no earlier than March 28, will mark the
final flight of the Delta IV Heavy rocket. The launch is planned from
Space Launch Complex-37B at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SwRI Receives $2 Million NASA Grant to
Develop Lunar Regolith Measuring Instrument</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been awarded a three-year,
$2,041,000 grant from NASA's Development and Advancement of Lunar
Instrumentation (DALI) program to further develop a novel
ground-penetrating radar instrument. The Synthetic Pulse Artemis Radar
for Crustal Imaging (SPARCI, pronounced "sparky") instrument is
designed to characterize the depth of the regolith and upper
megaregolith, the upper broken-up layers of lunar crust associated with
impact cratering. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Allocates DALI Grants to Foster
Lunar Science and Exploration Innovations </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
NASA has awarded Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation
(DALI) grants to five leading scientists and engineers. These grants
are a cornerstone of NASA's initiative to advance lunar science through
the Commercial Lunar Payload Services and the Artemis campaign. With a
funding model that allocates approximately $1 million annually to each
recipient, the DALI grants are aimed at developing instruments that not
only promise potential for future NASA missions but also are ready for
hardware construction post a three-year development period. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Protect Earth Instead of Colonizing
Mars, Obama Says</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
Humanity must preserve Earth before dreaming of colonising Mars because
even nuclear war and unbridled climate change cannot make the red
planet more liveable, Barack Obama said. Speaking at a renewable energy
conference in the French capital Paris, the former US president
mentioned Silicon Valley "tycoons, many of whom are building
spaceships" that could take humans to Mars. "But when I hear some of
the people talk about the plan to colonize Mars because the earth
environment may become so degraded that it becomes unliveable, I look
at them like, what are you talking about?" (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Study Brings Scientists a Step Closer
to Successfully Growing Plants in Space</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth
information without human intervention, UI researchers report. The
polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch
over 400% while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a
wireless signal to a remote monitoring location. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX’s Starship Journeys Into Space
But is Lost on Re-Entry</span> (Source: New York Times)<br />
The third try was closer to the charm for Elon Musk and SpaceX, as the
company’s flight test of the mammoth Starship rocket launched on
Thursday and traveled almost halfway around the Earth before it was
lost as it re-entered the atmosphere. The landing burn for the Super
Heavy booster stage of the rocket — the aim was to “land” it in
the Gulf of Mexico — was not fully successful, and the Starship craft
did not survive re-entry. But it was marked significant progress,
because none of the problems from the earlier flights recurred, and
SpaceX engineers now have data to tackle the new problems. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Alabama Republicans Target Transgender
Space Camp Employee</span> (Source: NBC)<br />
Three Republican Alabama officials are expressing concern that a
transgender person is employed at Space Camp, an educational program
for children held at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.
One of the lawmakers is calling for the employee to be removed and for
the center to “open a safety review to consider the potential harm and
damages they have inadvertently caused children.”<br />
<br />
The backlash began Saturday after Clay Yarbrough, a father who lives
just outside of Huntsville in the small town of Owens Cross Roads,
posted a screenshot of the LinkedIn profile and social media photos of
a crew trainer at Space Camp on Facebook. Yarbrough said he had planned
to send his daughter to Space Camp the following week, “but we have
just found out that this freak is a team lead and a hall monitor in the
girls dorms and at times could be allowed to be alone in the halls at
night.” (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Chinese Launch Malfunction During
Lunar Navsat Mission</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
A malfunction during a Chinese launch Wednesday may have doomed two
lunar spacecraft. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Xichang
Satellite Launch Center at 8:51 a.m. Eastern, but there was no official
report of the launch until early Thursday, when Chinese media said
there was a malfunction with the rocket's Yuanzheng-1S upper stage. The
rocket was carrying the DRO-A and -B satellites, intended to test lunar
navigation technologies, likely in a distant retrograde orbit around
the moon. It's unclear what orbit the spacecraft are in now and if
their mission can be salvaged. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force's SDA Seeks $4.25 Billion
for Transport Layer Satellites</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
The Space Force's Space Development Agency is marking its fifth
anniversary as it continues work on two satellite constellations. The
SDA is requesting about $4.25 billion for fiscal year 2025 to continue
development of a Transport Layer of data communications satellites that
will serve as a tactical network to move data collected by a Tracking
Layer of infrared sensors to users around the world. That is a far cry
from the agency's origins, when it struggled to secure funding amid
skepticism from Congress and within the Pentagon. SDA Director Derek
Tournear said in a recent interview that the agency had to "ruffle
feathers" as part of being disruptive. He noted that SDA is working
with contractors on supply chain issues while working to bring in new
vendors to bid on future satellite contracts. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Restructuring Earth Science
Project Amid Reduced Budgets </span>(Source: Space News)<br />
NASA is restructuring a major Earth science program to compensate for
reduced budgets. NASA said in its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal it
was making major changes to the Earth System Observatory line of
missions, intended to collect key data identified in the most recent
decadal survey. In a town hall meeting Wednesday, agency officials said
the changes include splitting larger missions into several smaller
ones, relying more on international partners and turning some
agency-led directed missions into ones open for competition. Those
changes are intended to reduce costs, but will result in some delays
and loss of instruments as well. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Terran Orbital Offers Small GEO
Satellites</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
Terran Orbital is now offering a small GEO satellite. The company
unveiled Thursday a line of spacecraft called SmallSat GEO weighing 500
kilograms and more. The satellites are intended to serve growing
interest in GEO satellites much smaller than the traditional multi-ton
GEO communications satellites. The new product line announcement comes
as Terran Orbital weighs an offer to be acquired by Lockheed Martin.
(3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Satellite Firms Forge Unlikely
Alliances to Create Seamless Multi-Orbit Networks</span> (Source: Space
News)<br />
Satellite operators are making unusual partnerships in order to provide
customers with multi-orbit services. Those partnerships, like deals
Intelsat and SES made with OneWeb and Starlink, point to a future of
mixed space networks spanning multiple orbits. Hybrid networks that
were once considered niche are now becoming a dominant trend in the
satellite communications industry. Collaboration and partnership models
are becoming the norm for operators to stay relevant and meet the
complex demands of customers who want to ensure continuous connectivity
even in challenging situations. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Omnispace Targets Africa Service</span>
(Source: Space News)<br />
Omnispace says its proposed satellite constellation could provide
direct-to-device services in Africa. Omnispace announced an agreement
this week with MTN, Africa's largest terrestrial mobile network
operator, where they will use Omnispace prototype satellites to test
how S-band spectrum could be used to keep mobile customers connected
outside cell tower coverage. Omnispace has announced similar testing
agreements with mobile phone operators in several other countries, and
also recently announced winning regulatory approval provide services in
Brazil. Omnispace expects to provide initial services in 2026 with 300
LEO satellites. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Defense Unicorns to Update IT Systems
for Launches</span> (Source: Space News)<br />
A startup has won a $15 million contract to update computer systems at
U.S. Space Force launch ranges. Colorado Springs-based Defense Unicorns
won a so-called Strategic Funding Increase, or STRATFI, agreement from
SpaceWERX, the technology arm of the Space Force. The contract will go
towards updating IT systems and software applications used to support
rocket launches. The company last week announced it raised a $35
million Series A funding round led by Sapphire Ventures and Ansa
Capital. (3/14)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Call Henry Awarded $12 Million for
Launch Operations Support at California Spaceport</span> (Source: DoD)<br />
Call Henry Inc., Titusville, Florida, has been awarded a $12,069,893,
predominantly fixed-price contract modification for management and
support, maintenance and repair, operations, and other services related
to launch operations support. Work will be performed at Vandenberg
Space Force Base, California, and is expected to be completed by Mar
31, 2025. (3/12)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">This Company Intends to be the First
to Mine the Moon</span> (Source: Washington Post)<br />
Nearly a decade ago, Congress passed a law that allows private American
space companies the rights to resources they mine on celestial bodies,
including the moon. Now, there’s a private venture that says it intends
to do just that. Founded by a pair of former executives from Blue
Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos, and an Apollo
astronaut, the company, Interlune, announced itself publicly Wednesday
by saying it has raised $18 million and is developing the technology to
harvest and bring materials back from the moon. <br />
<br />
Specifically, Interlune is focused on Helium-3, a stable isotope that
is scarce on Earth but plentiful on the moon and could be used as fuel
in nuclear fusion reactors as well as helping power the quantum
computing industry. The company, based in Seattle, has been working for
about four years on the technology, which comes as the commercial
sector is working with NASA on its goal of building an enduring
presence on and around the moon.<br />
<br />
Earlier this year, two commercial spacecraft attempted to land on the
moon as part of a NASA program designed to carry instruments and
experiments to the lunar surface, and eventually cargo and rovers. The
first attempt, by Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company, suffered a
fuel leak and never made it to the moon. The second, by Houston-based
Intuitive machines, did land on the moon, but came in too fast and
tipped over. Still, it was the first American spacecraft to land softly
on the moon in more than 50 years, and it was the first commercial
vehicle to achieve the feat. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA’s Space Tech Prize Bolsters
Diversity, Inclusivity Champions </span>(Source: NASA)<br />
NASA selected the first winners of the agency’s Space Tech Catalyst
prize to expand engagement with underrepresented and diverse
individuals in the space technology sector as part of the agency’s
broader commitment to inclusivity and collaboration. The winners are
receiving $25,000 each to create more inclusive space technology
ecosystems. Click <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-space-tech-prize-bolsters-diversity-inclusivity-champions/">here</a>.
(3/13) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AI-Enabled Satellites to Revolutionize
Earth Observation and Communications </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br />
Comsat Architects has partnered with Ubotica Technologies to infuse
artificial intelligence into space technologies, specifically focusing
on enhancing the capabilities of small satellites in low Earth orbit
for real-time Earth monitoring and intelligence. Comsat Architects,
offering expertise in space communication analysis, software
development, and aerospace technologies, serves both civil and
commercial sectors, including NASA and various commercial entities. The
company excels in enabling effective communication for spacecraft in
low Earth orbit (LEO), leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance
data delivery mechanisms. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ESA Awards Atheras Analytics Contract
for Next-Gen Satellite Constellation Ground Software Development</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br />
The European Space Agency (ESA) has chosen Atheras Analytics SAS, based
in Paris, for a significant 12-month project focused on the creation of
an advanced Ground Segment Dimensioning Tool. This tool is designed to
optimize the operation and analysis of satellite constellations, which
may comprise networks in varying orbits, all equipped with the
capability for inter-satellite communication. It promises to enhance
ground segment decision-making through detailed trade-off analysis,
performance assessment, and operational concept evaluation for diverse
satellite constellations. (3/13)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA's Network of Small Moon-Bound
Rovers Is Ready to Roll</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one
another are rolling toward launch. Engineers at NASA JPL recently
finished assembling the robots, then subjected them to a punishing
series of tests to ensure they'll survive their jarring rocket ride
into space and their travels in the unforgiving lunar environment. Part
of a technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous
Distributed Robotic Exploration), each solar-powered rover is about the
size of a carry-on suitcase. The rovers and associated hardware will be
installed on a lander headed for the Moon's Reiner Gamma region. (3/11)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How NASA Uses Simple Technology to
Track Lunar Missions</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br />
NASA is using a simple but effective technology called Laser
Retroreflective Arrays (LRAs) to determine the locations of lunar
landers more accurately. They will be attached to most of the landers
from United States companies as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload
Service (CLPS) initiative. LRAs are inexpensive, small, and
lightweight, allowing future lunar orbiters or landers to locate them
on the Moon. These devices consist of a small aluminum hemisphere, 2
inches in diameter and 0.7 ounces in weight, inset with eight
0.5-inch-diameter corner cube retroreflectors made of fused silica
glass. LRAs are targeted for inclusion on most of the upcoming CLPS
deliveries headed to the lunar surface. (3/11)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-72676506742232730722024-03-13T05:30:00.002-04:002024-03-13T11:15:41.315-04:00March 13, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ultrablack Coating Could Make Next-Gen
Telescopes Even Better</span> (Source: AIP)<br>
Sometimes, seeing clearly requires complete black. For astronomy and
precision optics, coating devices in black paint can cut down on stray
light, enhancing images and boosting performance. For the most advanced
telescopes and optical systems, every little bit matters, so their
manufacturers seek out the blackest blacks to coat them. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New UAF Lidar Will Add To Space
Weather Research Capability</span> (Source: UAF)<br>
University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists are developing a new light
detection and ranging instrument to help gain a better understanding of
space weather enveloping Earth. The new laser radar, or lidar, will be
the third for the UAF Geophysical Institute. It will measure
temperature and neutrally charged iron in the upper atmosphere at
altitudes of 75 to 125 miles, where the mesosphere and thermosphere
meet. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why NASA Wants Human Guinea Pigs to
Test Out Martian Living</span> (Source: NPR)<br>
NASA is seeking volunteers to test out living in the 1,700-square-foot
habitat known as Mars Dune Alpha. They are trying to determine — as
realistically as possible — how living on Mars would affect humans.
There are already four volunteer crew members living in that habitat,
who entered in June 2023 and will emerge in July of this year. Click <a
href="https://www.npr.org/2024/03/12/1237624555/nasa-mars-science-humans-living">here</a>.
(3/12) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Comet Bigger Than Mount Everest Will
Rule Skies of Earth After 71 Years</span> (Source: The News)<br>
This month, there is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for stargazers to
watch a comet the size of Mount Everest speeding across the sky.
Officially identified as Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks, it has drawn
comparisons to the Star Wars Millennium Falcon due to two “horns” that
may be seen in pictures. With specialized telescopes, amateur
astronomers have already begun taking pictures of the comet, but it
should soon be visible to the unaided eye. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Japan Creates Multibillion-Dollar
Space Strategic Fund to Boost Space Industry</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Japan has established a multibillion-dollar Space Strategic Fund to
help develop the country’s innovation, autonomy and international
competitiveness in space.<br>
<br>
Japan’s cabinet approved a bill to establish a $6.7 billion (1 trillion
yen), 10-year fund for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in
November, aimed at supporting development, technology demonstration,
and commercialization of advanced technologies in the space field. New
details were presented in a Space Policy Committee meeting in February,
including defining three areas for support: satellites, space
exploration and space transportation. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NOAA Appoints Michael Kruk as Deputy
Director of Technology Partnerships Office</span> (Source: GovCon Daily)<br>
Michael Kruk has been named deputy director of the Technology
Partnerships Office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration. The NOAA TPO said Monday that in his new position, Kruk
will work to ensure efficient operations while carrying out the
execution of the office's strategic direction. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AIA Supports Future Increases for NASA</span>
(Source: Payload)<br>
Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries
Association, expressed disappointment over NASA's first funding
decrease in a decade, stating: "The Aerospace Industries Association
was disappointed to see the first drop in NASA funding in 10 years in
the just-passed FY24 consolidated appropriations bill, threatening key
aeronautics, exploration, space technology, and science programs.
However, we are pleased the president's budget request supports an
increase to NASA's current funding beyond the FY24 level and see this
request as a floor for Congress as it deliberates next year's
appropriation." (3/12) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Looks to Future On-Orbit
Refueling Capability</span> (Source: Defense One)<br>
The Space Force is initiating a project to create technology for
refueling and repairing satellites in orbit, as stated by Chief of
Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, highlighting the effort's
potential to enhance satellite maneuverability and defense
capabilities. With a $20 million allocation in its 2025 budget request,
the service aims to develop "Servicing, Mobility, and Logistics"
capabilities. (3/12) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space One's Kairos Rocket Explodes
After Launch From New Japanese Spaceport</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The first launch of a privately developed Japanese rocket ended in an
explosion seconds after liftoff. The Kairos rocket lifted off at 10:01
p.m. Eastern Tuesday from the Spaceport Kii launch site on Honshu. The
rocket, though, exploded about five seconds after liftoff, with debris
falling back near the launch site. <br>
<br>
Space One, the company that developed Kairos, did not disclose details
about what might have caused the explosion. Kairos uses three
solid-propellant lower stages and a liquid-propellant kick stage and is
designed to place up to 250 kilograms into low Earth orbit. Space One,
whose shareholders include Canon and IHI Aerospace, has stated its goal
is to launch Kairos up to 20 times a year but has offered few details
about any customers for the rocket. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Japan Approves $6.7 Billion Strategic
Fund for Space Industry Development </span>(Source: Space News)<br>
Japan's cabinet approved a bill to establish a $6.7 billion (1 trillion
yen) 10-year Space Strategic Fund in November to be administered by the
Japanese space agency JAXA aimed at supporting development, technology
demonstration, and commercialization of advanced technologies in the
space field. New details about the fund disclosed last month defined
three areas for support: satellites, space exploration and space
transportation. It answers a call in the Space Basic Plan, revised in
June 2023, for JAXA to be able to support entities from the commercial
and academic worlds. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Army Extends Maxar Contract for 3D
Terrain Models</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The U.S. Army has extended a contract with Maxar Intelligence for 3D
terrain models. Maxar was awarded Phase 4 of the U.S. Army's One World
Terrain (OWT) contract, which has a total value of $94.7 million if all
options are exercised. The company uses data from its high-resolution
Earth imaging satellites to make 3D mapping products including, for the
OWT contract, models used to create immersive training environments for
soldiers. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Beluga Transports European Satellite
to Florida</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Airbus used its Beluga aircraft to transport one of its communications
satellites to Florida for launch. The oversized aircraft transported
the Eutelsat 36D satellite from France, where the spacecraft was
assembled, to Florida for launch on a Falcon 9 at the end of the month.
Eutelsat 36D has 70 Ku-band transponders and will replace the Eutelsat
36B satellite at 36 degrees east in GEO. It is the third time the
manufacturer's alternative to Ukrainian Antonov aircraft has flown a
large satellite across the Atlantic since Airbus started offering an
outsized freight transportation service two years ago. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FAA Seeks Big Space Budget Increase</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
The FAA is seeking a large budget increase for its commercial space
office. The FAA's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal released this week
includes $57.1 million for its Office of Commercial Space
Transportation, 36% above its 2024 budget. The additional funding would
allow the office to hire more staff to oversee commercial launches and
reentries, as well as prepare for potential new regulatory roles in
human spaceflight and mission authorization for space activities not
overseen by other agencies. The FAA is, in addition, requesting a $7
million increase for its Air Traffic Organization so it can hire more
staff to coordinate airspace for commercial launches. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rocket Lab Launches Japanese Imaging
Satellite From New Zealand</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Rocket Lab launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Tuesday. The
company's Electron rocket lifted off from its New Zealand launch site
at 11:03 a.m. Eastern and deployed the StriX-3 satellite into a
sun-synchronous orbit 54 minutes later. StriX-3 is the fourth synthetic
aperture radar imaging satellite for Synspective, a Japanese company
with plans to deploy a constellation of 30 such spacecraft. All four
have launched on Electron rockets under a multi-launch contract that
includes two more launches. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">South Korea Could See Space Budget
Doubled </span>(Source: Korea Herald)<br>
South Korea's president has vowed to nearly double the country's space
budget. In a visit Wednesday to the headquarters of Korea Aerospace
Industries, Yoon Suk Yeol said the government's spending on space would
grow to more than $1.1 billion in 2027, nearly double current levels.
That funding would go towards expanding satellite and launch vehicle
production, including a new launch pad for commercial rockets. He set a
goal of expanding South Korea's share of the global aerospace industry
from the current 1% to 10% by 2045. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India's New Weather Satellite is
Operational</span> (Source: India Today)<br>
India's space agency ISRO has published the first images from a new
weather satellite. The images, released this week, are from the
INSAT-3DS spacecraft launched last month to geostationary orbit. The
images confirm that the satellite and its instruments are working well,
ISRO said. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Four Astronauts From Four Countries
Return to Earth After Six Months in Orbit</span> (Source: AP)<br>
Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with
SpaceX on Tuesday to end a half-year mission at the ISS. Their capsule
streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the
Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle. NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, a
Marine helicopter pilot, led the returning crew of Denmark’s Andreas
Mogensen, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Russia’s Konstantin Borisov.
They moved into the space station last August. Their replacements
arrived last week in their own SpaceX capsule. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Accelerating Development of Two
Large Reusable Rocket Models</span> (Source: Xinhua) <br>
China's development of both 4-meter-diameter and 5-meter-diameter
reusable rockets is being accelerated, with their inaugural flights
scheduled for 2025 and 2026, respectively. The manufacturing of these
two new large reusable launching vehicle models is a response to
growing demand in the commercial space market, said the China Aerospace
Science and Technology Corporation. Reusable rockets are crucial for
future space exploration efforts, as they offer cost-effectiveness,
high efficiency, technical complexity, and are also environmentally
friendly. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Australian Initiative Demonstrates
World’s Smallest Known Voice-Enabled Satellite</span> (Source: Cosmos)<br>
Adelaide-based Fleet Space Technologies has successfully demonstrated
that its Centauri nanosatellites can be reprogrammed to deliver
push-to-talk voice capabilities while in orbit. The new
satellite-enabled push-to-talk capabilities are part of the Defence
Space Command-funded ASCEND2LEO project, which aims to develop a Low
Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications system to achieve tactical
communications and data transmission where there is limited
connectivity. (3/13)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sierra Space Axelerator to Incubate
Space Tech Innovations</span> (Source: Sierra Space)<br>
Sierra Space announced today the launch of Sierra Space Axelerator, an
innovation-at-speed incubator designed to fast-track the development of
revolutionary defense technologies and mission solutions. Axelerator is
set to redefine industry standards by delivering cutting-edge products
with unprecedented efficiency. The first marvel to emerge from
Axelerator is Sierra Space Ghost, a state-of-the-art space delivery
system engineered to safely return objects from space – and through
space – directly to precise locations on Earth. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Defense Unicorns Announces $15 Million
U.S. Space Force Strategic Funding Increase</span> (Source: Yahoo!
Finance)<br>
Defense Unicorns, a veteran-owned startup providing open-source
software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities for National
Security systems, announced a $15 million U.S. Space Force Strategic
Funding Increase (STRATFI) in partnership with Program Executive Office
Assured Access to Space (AATS). Defense Unicorns’ focus is to
accelerate and scale secure software solutions to increase the launch
capacity of the Space Launch Deltas and meet the increasing demand for
federal and commercial launch operations. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Lego Technic Mars Rover is Sci-Fi
but Built with NASA's Help</span> (Source: CollectSpace)<br>
Lego and NASA have a long history of collaborating, but a recently
released building set launched the partnership in a new direction —
both for the toy company and space agency. The new Mars Crew
Exploration Rover, which went on sale earlier this month, is unlike any
space vehicle that Lego — or NASA — has ever built. For Lego, it was
the first time that its Technic line of advanced working models focused
on a fictional space vehicle. Similarly, this was the first time NASA
engineers advised on a Lego toy that was not in some way based on any
of the agency's plans or spacecraft. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Air Force Budget Plan Lags Inflation</span>
(Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine)<br>
The US Air Force's $262.6 billion budget proposal for 2025 represents a
small percentage increase though more is needed to keep up with
inflation, according to acting Air Force undersecretary Krysten Jones.
The plan includes allocations of $188.1 billion for the Air Force,
$29.4 billion for the Space Force, and $45.1 billion in "pass through"
funding. (3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spring Break and SpaceX Launch Bring
Crowds to Texas Beaches</span> (Source: Valley Central)<br>
Spring break is underway this week on South Padre Island but this year
brings an added attraction. SpaceX plans to launch its Starship rocket
on Thursday. The launch is expected to happen Thursday, but the Federal
Aviation Administration has to sign off first. The thousands of
visitors who come to view the launches will have to pass through the
transit city of Port Isabel. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Alaska Beach Closed for Testing at
Alaska Spaceport</span> (Source: KMXT)<br>
Alaska’s Pacific Spaceport Complex is gearing up for its next launch at
its site on Kodiak Island. Island residents saw access to a local beach
closed for several days over the last week as various testing is
underway. Robert Greene is the President of Aurora Launch Services, a
subsidiary of the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, which operates out of
the spaceport. According to Greene, the commercial customer is
performing various hazardous operations testing before scheduling a
launch date. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orlando SpaceCom / Space Congress
Opens Exhibitor Registrations for 2025</span> (Source: SpaceCom)<br>
SpaceCom | Space Congress 2024 attracted an impressive 4,000+ space
professionals, setting a new record in exhibitor re-sign rates–with
many expanding their footprint for 2025 as a direct result of their
success at the 2024 event. With the industry still buzzing about the
success of the event, many new organizations are also jumping on the
opportunity to be first-time exhibitors. Click <a
href="https://www.spacecomexpo.com/">here</a>. (3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Virgin Galactic Boosts Space Ride
Prices 33%</span> (Source: Orange County Business Journal)<br>
Inflation may be heading toward outer space. Virgin Galactic Holdings
Inc. is increasing the cost of a single suborbital ride in its
spacecraft from $450,000 to $600,000. While the company (NYSE: SPCE)
only brought in $7 million in revenue last year as it began its nascent
commercial operations, it says each launch center it is aiming for,
known as a spaceport, will eventually generate more than $1 billion
annually with new spacecraft, greater flight frequency and higher
ticket prices. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Establishing Global Space
Transportation Networks Puts Florida at Center of Aerospace Commerce</span>
(Source: Space Florida)<br>
After successful meetings in the United Kingdom with key leaders during
the 2024 Space-Comm Expo, Space Florida’s president and CEO Rob Long
announced intentions for Space Florida to develop the regulatory
framework that will underpin international commercial transportation
through space commerce with strategic allies. The below statement
should be attributed to Rob Long, Space Florida president and CEO. <br>
<br>
“Much like the transportation networks that support airports and link
international travel and commerce, a network of spaceports--connected
and supported through global cooperation--could redefine the boundaries
of economic exchange. Innovative commercial concepts like space trade
routes enabled by point-to-point space travel require international
cooperation and development... We look forward to working with
our international counterparts to build a framework that could
transform this idea into a global space transportation network, of
which Florida is the critical node driving aerospace commerce.” (3/12)<br>
</span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-2640753078151758872024-03-12T05:30:00.002-04:002024-03-12T11:25:53.595-04:00March 12, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Crew Dragon Splashes Down Near
Pensacola </span>(Source: Space News)<br>
A Crew Dragon spacecraft returned four people from the International
Space Station this morning. The spacecraft Endurance splashed down off
the Florida coast near Pensacola at 5:47 a.m. Eastern, a little more
than 18 hours after undocking from the ISS. The splashdown marked the
end of the Crew-7 mission, returning NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA's
Andreas Mogensen, JAXA's Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos' Konstantin
Borisov after more than six months in space. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2025 Budget Proposal Seeks $29.4
Billion for Space Force</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes steady funding for the U.S.
Space Force. The budget proposal, released Monday, offers $29.4 billion
for the service, down from the $30 billion requested for 2024 but in
line with projections last year for the service's funding in 2025. Air
Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that the 2025 request is an
"acceptable" budget for the Space Force, but not an optimal one,
allowing key programs to move forward but at not quite the pace that
the Pentagon would like. <br>
<br>
While the Space Force budget remained relatively flat, many in the
commercial space industry will be disappointed it did not create new
funding lines for emerging services, one analyst said. The Pentagon is
also requesting $144 million for its new Office of Strategic Capital,
created to help bring private investment to companies developing
dual-use technologies with both commercial and national security
applications. With financing tools like loan guarantees, the office
aims to boost tech firms that typically shun government work. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Seeks $25.4 Billion for 2025</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
NASA says that it's faced with "hard choices" for its programs because
of spending caps. The agency released its 2025 budget proposal Monday,
seeking nearly $25.4 billion in 2025, the same as the agency received
in 2023 and a half-billion more than it received in the final 2024
spending bill last week. The budget requests proposals to delay, cancel
or restructure several science missions, including canceling the
Geospace Dynamics Constellation heliophysics mission and cutting back
operations of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. <br>
<br>
The budget left funding for Mars Sample Return (MSR) as "TBD" as plans
to restructure the program wrap up this spring. NASA will later amend
the budget request to include funding for MSR, but doesn't plan to
increase the $2.7 billion overall request for planetary science. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">COSMO Working to Leverage Commercial
Capabilities for Military Needs</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A Space Systems Command office is seeking to better leverage commercial
space capabilities. The Commercial Space Office, or COMSO, has the
mantra, "Exploit what we have, buy what we can and build only what we
must." The head of COMSO, Col. Richard Kniseley, explained that means
using existing capabilities in new ways and buying what is commercially
available before the Space Force considers building its own systems. He
noted that a commercial system that meets 70% of their needs now is
preferable in many cases to building a new system. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Simera Sense Raises $15 Million for
Space Cameras</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Space camera maker Simera Sense has raised nearly $15 million. The
company, which produces cameras for satellite manufacturers that
include AAC Clyde Space, Open Cosmos and OHB System, says the funding
will allow it to expand system assembly facilities out of South Africa
and closer to its component producers in Europe. The funding will also
will help the company fast-track the development of higher resolution
and more advanced shortwave infrared camera products. Founded in 2018,
Simera Sense is a specialized business unit within Simera Group, a
14-year-old multi-disciplinary engineering company based in South
Africa. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lumen Space Raises $2.4 Million for
Space-Based Data Centers</span> (Source: GeekWire)<br>
A startup is proposing to place data centers in orbit. Lumen Space
raised a $2.4 million pre-seed round that it announced Monday. The
company says it has ambitions to place hundreds of satellites in orbit
that will perform "edge processing" of data from other spacecraft,
reducing the amount of information sent back to Earth. The funding
supports work on a prototype satellite planned for launch in 2025.
Several other companies are also pursuing similar plans to create
in-space data centers. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aireon Launches Global Coalition for
Space-Based VHF Aviation Communication</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
The Aireon Space-Based VHF Coalition is a collaborative initiative
aimed at developing space-based VHF voice and data communication
services for the aviation sector. The coalition sees the partnership of
industry giants including Iridium, NAV CANADA, NATS, AirNav Ireland,
ENAV, and Naviair with Aireon, and is in talks with more partners set
to join. This initiative follows the groundbreaking success of Aireon's
space-based ADS-B surveillance, which revolutionized the monitoring of
over 50% of the world's airspace. (3/12)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Olsen Secures UK Funding for
Development of Lunar Rover Drive System</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Leading provider of actuators and space-certified motor drives, Olsen
Actuators and Drives has won its first UK Space Agency funding to
deliver a Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstrator for a new lunar rover
being designed by the University of Manchester, and funded by the
Enabling Technologies Program (ETP). The project will develop and
fabricate a jumping robot system capable of thrusting upwards,
descending, and self-righting that will be lowered into lava tubes
under the surface of the Moon which have been earmarked for potential
initial future human habitation. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">BlackStar and Kall Morris Forge
Partnership to Address Space Debris Challenge</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
BlackStar Orbital Technologies Corporation has announced a new
partnership with Kall Morris Inc (KMI), a company at the forefront of
orbital debris mitigation. This alliance marks a substantial
advancement in the effort to address the increasing concern of space
debris, with plans for a joint satellite retrieval mission slated for
2027. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Indo-Swedish Space Collaboration Leaps
Forward with Ground Station Expansion</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Dhruva Space and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) are intensifying
their longstanding collaboration with an agreement to expand their
satellite ground station network, an initiative poised to significantly
benefit the Swedish and Indian new space industries. This partnership
marks a pivotal advance with Dhruva Space set to employ SSC's ground
station network for its forthcoming LEAP-1 hosted payload satellite
mission, expected to launch later in 2024. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Therapeutic for Cartilage
Regeneration Flies to ISS to Improve Arthritis Treatments on Earth</span>
(Source: CASIS)<br>
About one in four adults are affected by arthritis, which can wreak
havoc on joints by breaking down the cushioning, called cartilage,
between bones. Currently, once cartilage deteriorates, there is no way
to replace it. However, researchers from the University of Connecticut
recently turned to the ISS National Laboratory to try to change that.
Yupeng Chen sent engineered cartilage tissue, housed in a Space Tango
CubeLab, to space to evaluate how effective a nanoparticle therapeutic
is at overcoming cartilage deterioration caused by microgravity.
Results from this investigation could lead to improved treatments for
patients with degenerative joint diseases. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SAIC Scores $444 Million Contract to
Upgrade Data Systems at U.S. Space Launch Sites </span>(Source: Space
News)<br>
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has landed a $444
million contract to modernize the launch instrumentation and
information systems at the Space Force’s launch sites in Florida and
California. “Under this contract, SAIC will modernize antiquated space
launch range instrumentation and processes to support an accelerated
cadence of space missions,” the company announced March 11. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Act Now to Prevent a ‘Gold Rush’ in
Space</span> (Source: Nature)<br>
Although the 1967 Outer Space Treaty has staved off major conflicts in
space over the past nearly 60 years, the nature of space exploration
has changed remarkably since then. For starters, private firms are now
able to exert substantial influence on government-run space programmes.
Private actors such as the US spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, based in
Hawthorne, California, already own a majority of the low Earth orbiting
satellites. In 2022, the space industry was estimated to be worth $350
billion and is projected to grow to more than one trillion dollars over
the next two decades. <br>
<br>
Under these circumstances, the presence of intentionally vague and
ambiguous terminology in existing international agreements — such as
outer space being a “province of all mankind” held for the “common
interest” — leaves room for misinterpretation. If lunar bases end up
becoming a reality, the existing legal framework will need an update.
Without a bold new global consensus, a space ‘wild west’ could emerge.
In the absence of a concerted global dialogue, individual countries are
pushing ahead with their own laws, such as the US Commercial Space
Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015. Similar laws are being written or
enacted in India, Japan, China and Russia. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Difficult Early Life of the
Centaur Upper Stage </span>(Source: Space Review)<br>
The Centaur upper stage has become a key element for a series of launch
vehicles, most recently the Vulcan. But as Trevor Williams describes,
it suffered problems during its origins more than six decades ago.
Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=d405b4ce17&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India Unveils its First Set of
Gaganyaan Astronauts </span>(Source: Space Review)<br>
The Indian government last month revealed the identities of the four
test pilots who have been training for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight
program. Jatan Mehta provides an update on the state of that program.
Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=f08d8a27f1&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Psychological Challenges of a Long
Voyage to Mars</span> (Source: Space Review)<br>
Going to Mars involves many technical challenges, but another set of
issues involves how crews will work together in confined spaces far
from Earth for years at a time. Nick Kanas examines some of those
problems and potential solutions. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=afce5516e9&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">'Once-Unthinkable' Ways We Can Cool
the Planet</span> (Source: Newser)<br>
The National Academy of Sciences recommended a "cautious approach" to
testing newer technologies, like solar geoengineering, in 2021. Here
are some of the more interesting ways researchers say we can slow down
the effects of global warming, some of which are already being tested
out. Click <a
href="https://www.newser.com/story/346416/wild-ways-scientists-say-we-can-cool-the-planet.html">here</a>.
(3/10) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dawn of the Multi-Orbit Era </span>(Source:
Space News)<br>
Standalone terminals that can switch between satellites in
geostationary and low Earth orbit (LEO) are about to get into customer
hands for the first time, delivering a real-world test of multi-orbit
broadband capabilities operators are increasingly pinning their
businesses on. Legacy geostationary operators have been busy drawing up
acquisitions, partnerships, and new constellations to offer multi-orbit
services, partly in response to competition from LEO-only heavyweight
Starlink, but also to meet evolving connectivity needs in the air and
other places terrestrial networks can’t reach. (3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">More Precise Understanding of Dark
Energy Achieved Using AI </span>(Source: Phys.org)<br>
A UCL-led research team has used artificial intelligence (AI)
techniques to infer the influence and properties of dark energy more
precisely from a map of dark and visible matter in the universe
covering the last 7 billion years. The researchers doubled the
precision at which key characteristics of the universe, including the
overall density of dark energy, could be inferred from the map. This
increased precision allows researchers to rule out models of the
universe that might previously have been conceivable. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Why Astronomers are Worried About 2
Major Telescopes Right Now</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
There's a bit of tension right now in the U.S. astronomy community and,
perhaps unsurprisingly, it has to do with telescopes — extremely large
telescopes, in fact. Here's what's going on.<br>
<br>
The National Science Foundation (NSF), a source of public funding that
two powerful next-gen observatories have been banking on for financial
support, is facing pressure to go forward with only one telescope. This
is because last month, the National Science Board — which is basically
an advisory committee for the NSF — recommended that it cap its giant
telescope budget at $1.6 billion. This is a lot of money, but it's just
not enough for both. The board even says the NSF will have until only
May of this year to decide which telescope gets the go-ahead. (3/10)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturn's Moon is a Testing Ground to
Gain a Better Understanding of the Methane Molecule</span> (Source:
Phys.org)<br>
Titan is the second-largest moon in the solar system and the only one
with a dense atmosphere. At the top of this atmosphere, rich in
nitrogen and methane, the sun's radiation produces a great diversity of
organic molecules, some of which we also find on Earth as constituents
of the basic unit of life, the cell.<br>
<br>
An international research team analyzed the sunlight reflected by
Titan's atmosphere and identified for the first time almost one hundred
signatures that the methane molecule (CH4) inscribes in the visible
band of the electromagnetic spectrum, traces that are essential for
finding it in other atmospheres. Furthermore, the team found possible
evidence of the presence of the tricarbon molecule (C3), a molecule
that could participate in the chain of chemical reactions that generate
complex molecules of Titan- If confirmed, it will be the first
detection of the tricarbon molecule on a planetary body. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Gets E-band Radio Waves to
Boost Starlink Broadband</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
SpaceX has secured conditional approval to use extremely high-frequency
E-band radio waves to improve the capacity of its low Earth orbit
Starlink broadband constellation. The FCC is allowing SpaceX to use
E-band frequencies between second-generation Starlink satellites and
gateways on the ground, alongside already approved spectrum in the Ka
and Ku bands. Specifically, SpaceX is now also permitted to communicate
between 71 and 76 gigahertz from space to Earth, and 81-86 GHz
Earth-to-space, using the up to 7,500 Gen 2 satellites SpaceX is
allowed to deploy. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Phantom Closes Bridge Funding Round</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Phantom Space Corp. closed a bridge round to fund the Tucson,
Arizona-based startup’s development and manufacturing of satellites and
launch vehicles. Phantom’s March 11 news release did not disclose the
value of the latest round. To date, the company has raised about $37
million. Phantom is developing Daytona, a launch vehicle for payloads
with a maximum mass of 500 kilograms. <br>
<br>
In addition, Phantom plans to establish the Phantom Cloud small
satellite constellation. Phantom Cloud is designed to provide satellite
data backhaul services, on-orbit cloud storage and edge computing. In
addition to producing satellites for Phantom Cloud, Phantom sells small
satellites. The first ESPA-class commercial satellite was delivered to
a customer in 2022. (ESPA stands for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
Secondary Payload Adapter.) (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Nelson Promises a 'Fight' for NASA's
2025 Budget Request</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says his agency was "caught" in a
Congressional compromise for spending cuts in fiscal year 2025.
Nelson's annual "State of NASA" address framed a two-year spending
reduction agreement in Congress, reached in the U.S. Senate late Friday
for part of the government, as a result of "partisan political
gridlock" that will affect NASA greatly in the current fiscal year and
the next one. (Nelson is a former Democratic representative for both
the U.S. House and the Senate.) (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">US Responds to Russia-China Plan to
Put Nuclear Reactor On Moon</span> (Source: Newsweek)<br>
The State Department has urged a "rigorous" safety evaluation of a
proposed joint Russia-China plan to establish a nuclear-powered lunar
base within the next decade. Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space
agency Roscosmos, said earlier this month that the two powers are
"seriously considering a project" to install a nuclear power station on
the lunar surface that may one day support lunar settlements. The
project, Borisov said, may take place "somewhere at the turn of
2033-2035." <br>
<br>
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. "is aware of PRC
[People's Republic of China] and Russian plans for an International
Lunar Research Station," noting the "decades of space cooperation"
between the two neighbors. There is no suggestion that the planned
project has a military component, but the Institute for the Study of
War suggested Borisov's remarks were "indicative of warming relations
and Chinese willingness to foster a long-term strategic partnership
with Russia to posture against and possibly threaten the West." (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Loves AI, AI Doesn't Love Space</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Space-related applications of artificial intelligence and machine
learning are often confined to the ground because moving AI onboard
satellites, while promising, is significantly more difficult. “Running
AI in space is like running a marathon on the moon — impressive if
achieved, but limited by the environment,” said Sylvester Kaczmarek,
chief technology officer at OrbiSky Systems, a London startup focused
on AI edge operations.<br>
<br>
Advanced processors are power hungry, meaning satellites with onboard
AI require large solar panels and extra batteries. Plus, “radiation in
space can fry electronics,” Kaczmarek said. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Will Launch Giant, Reusable
Rockets Next Year to Prep for Human Missions to the Moon</span>
(Source: Space.com)<br>
China plans to launch two reusable rockets in 2025 and 2026 in
preparation for future crewed missions to the moon. The upcoming
launches are part of a new lunar program introduced by the state-owned
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), the main
contractor for the Chinese space program, that will be "key" to China's
goal of sending astronauts to the moon by 2030, SpaceNews reported. <br>
<br>
Unlike rockets that China has used in the past, this pair will be
completely reusable. This means they will be not only more sustainable
but also more cost-effective, since they won't have to be built from
scratch for future missions. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Kymeta Brings in New Leadership Amid
Multi-Orbit Antenna Launch</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Flat panel antenna maker Kymeta is refreshing its leadership team as
the company prepares to start shipping its first multi-orbit broadband
user terminal. Kymeta said March 11 that co-CEOs Walter Berger and Doug
Hutcheson, who were also president and chair, respectively, are
retiring at the end of March after leading the company for five years.<br>
<br>
Rick Bergman, most recently executive vice president for computing and
graphics at chipmaker AMD, is replacing Berger as president and CEO.
Bergman also served as president and CEO of computer touchpad maker
Synaptics from 2011-2019. Aerospace industry veteran Nicole Piasecki, a
Kymeta board member since May 2022, will become its chair as the
manufacturer abandons the co-CEO leadership structure. (3/11)<br>
</span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-35581444543473827372024-03-11T11:55:00.003-04:002024-03-11T11:55:17.932-04:00March 11, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A New Shape for Small Spacecraft</span>
(Source: Aerospace America)<br>
In 2025, the payload fairing of a small launch vehicle is scheduled to
be jettisoned in low-Earth orbit to reveal a curious-looking cylinder.
Inside that aluminum can, four flat, circular satellites — each a meter
in diameter and only 2.5 centimeters thick — will be stacked like
pancakes, separated by contact points between them. If all goes as
planned, a geared mechanism will elevate each satellite to the top of
the can and hurl it out into orbit.<br>
<br>
This won’t be some orbital publicity stunt by the International House
of Pancakes but the first demonstration of the DiskSat concept — small,
flat, meter-wide satellites built to a format that could soon join
cubesats among the leaders in the small satellite field. The carbon
composite and aluminum chassis structures of the four that are planned
for the test launch next year arrived in January at the Aerospace Corp.
(3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Stratolaunch Launches Talon
Hypersonics Test Vehicle</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Stratolaunch successfully launched its first Talon vehicle intended for
hypersonics research. The Talon TA-1 vehicle launched from the
company's Roc aircraft Saturday off the coast of central California,
after the plane took off from the Mojave Air and Space Port.
Stratolaunch said TA-1 reached its intended "high supersonic" speeds
approaching Mach 5 on the flight, then glided to a splashdown in the
Pacific. Stratolaunch was founded more than a decade ago to develop an
air-launch system, but pivoted to hypersonics after the death of its
founder, Paul Allen. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches Bi-Coastal Starlink
Missions, Hours Apart</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
SpaceX launched a pair of Starlink missions five hours apart Sunday
night. One Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7:05
p.m. Eastern and placed 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. A second
Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:09 a.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force
Base in California and placed another set of 23 Starlink satellites
into orbit. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS Battery Pallet Reenters </span>(Source:
Ars Technica)<br>
A pallet of batteries from the ISS reentered over the Gulf of Mexico
Friday. The used batteries, weighing more than 2,600 kilograms,
reentered while passing between Mexico and Cuba. The pallet, the
largest debris from the ISS to reenter to date, was supposed to make a
controlled reentry attached to a Japanese HTV cargo spacecraft.
However, scheduling problems linked to the delayed launch of a new crew
to the station in 2018 meant that the pallet was released in 2021 for
an uncontrolled reentry. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Some Progress on Restoring Voyager 1
Computer</span> (Source: Pasadena Star-News)<br>
The Voyager project team is seeing progress in restoring a faulty
computer on Voyager 1. That spacecraft has been unable to properly
transmit data since last November, instead sending "gibberish" because
of an apparent problem with its flight data system. Engineers now say
that, after months of work, the computer appears to be improving,
sending back data that, while not correct, looks more familiar to them
than what it had previously been transmitting. Those recovery efforts
have been painstaking because of the long round-trip travel time for
communications with the spacecraft, as well as going through computer
source code developed a half-century ago. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Avanti Secures Authorization for HYLAS
4 Satellite Gateway in Senegal </span>(Source: Avanti)<br>
Avanti Communications has been granted the authorization required for
its HYLAS 4 satellite gateway station in Diamniadio, Senegal. The
Infrastructure Operator Authorization means the gateway’s
infrastructure will now become operational. Avanti will now move on to
the final phase of testing before launching its services. The launch
will provide Senegal with complete high-speed national satellite
coverage. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Who Has Been To Space, And Who Hasn’t?
Depends On Your Definition</span> (Source: Forbes)<br>
Where does outer space begin? That’s a good question, given all of the
recent activity in the aeronautics and space tourism areas, much of it
within the private sector. During the Cold War with the former Soviet
Union, it was an orbit of the Earth which the average Joe considered
space. Click <a
href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2024/03/10/who-has-been-to-space-and-who-hasnt-depends-on-your-definition/?sh=570576c47bc7">here</a>.
(3/10) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Richard Truly and the Death of the
Space Exploration Initiative</span> (Source: The Hill)<br>
The sad story of Truly’s term as NASA administrator and his role in the
demise of President Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative is recounted in
“Mars Wars” by Thor Hogan as part of the NASA History series. It notes
that Truly had gotten the job running the space agency almost by
default, for being a friend of then White House Chief of Staff John
Sununu. The Bush administration selected Truly without much discussion
or study, based more on his status as an astronaut than any proven
administration skills. The decision proved to be a fateful one.<br>
<br>
The reaction in Congress and among the American public was
unenthusiastic. Sen. Al Gore (D-TN) reflected the attitude of many in
Congress, saying: “By proposing a return to the Moon and a manned base
on Mars, with no money, no timetable, and no plan, President Bush
offers the country not a challenge to inspire us, but a daydream.” A
Gallup Poll taken soon after Bush’s speech suggested that just 27
percent of the American public favored increasing spending on space.<br>
<br>
Nevertheless, Truly and NASA were tasked with developing a plan to make
President Bush’s plan a reality. NASA released a 90-day study on Nov.
20, 1989. It proposed five reference approaches with a cost ranging
from $541 billion to $471 billion. The initiative would have required
doubling NASA’s budget and a time frame of 35 years, from 1991 through
2025. (3/10)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Ideas Might Make Active Shielding
Viable</span> (Source: Ars Technica)<br>
The Orion spacecraft that is supposed to take humans on a Moon fly-by
mission this year has a heavily shielded storm shelter for the crew.
But shelters like that aren’t sufficient for a flight to Mars—Orion’s
shield is designed for a 30-day mission. To obtain protection
comparable to what we enjoy on Earth would require hundreds of tons of
material, and that's simply not possible in orbit. The primary
alternative—using active shields that deflect charged particles just
like the Earth’s magnetic field does—was first proposed in the 1960s.
Today, we’re finally close to making it work.<br>
<br>
In the 1960s, NASA funded multiple studies looking into three active
shielding concepts: plasma shields, electrostatic shields, and magnetic
shields. In 1967, Richard H. Levy and Francis W. French delivered a
report saying that plasma and electrostatic shields were promising, but
they both needed 60 million volts to work—even by today’s standards,
that number is ridiculous. In 1995, the Antimatter Study Group proposed
putting a device called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) on the
ISS. Click <a
href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/shields-up-new-ideas-might-make-active-shielding-viable/">here</a>.
(3/11) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Talking on the Moon: The Quest to
Establish Lunar Wi-Fi</span> (Source: BBC)<br>
"We will expect 4K resolution from the Moon almost in real time coming
from the landing. It's going to be up to 500 megabits of data coming
back," said Matt Cosby. "In this day and age, and with social media,
grainy black and white photos and videos from the Moon's surface will
be unacceptable." Between 2021-23 NASA's LunarLites project evaluated
how Earth's 4G and 5G technologies could translate to the lunar
environment and now has two new ongoing projects. <br>
<br>
The Lunar Surface Propagation (LSP) project is studying how wireless
communications systems will perform in the lunar surface environment.
NASA's Lunar Third Generation Partnership (3GPP) is also researching
how to deploy wireless technologies on the Moon. Once 4G and 5G are
available on the Moon, any astronaut on the surface can communicate
reliably with their rovers, instruments and crew members. Any data
coming back to Earth can then be sent over one link – an efficient way
to communicate when large ground stations are often in high demand.
(3/10)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astroforensics: Pioneering Blood
Behavior Research for Space Crime Solving</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
As more people seek to go where no man has gone before, researchers are
exploring how forensic science can be adapted to extraterrestrial
environments. A new study by Staffordshire University and the
University of Hull highlights the behaviour of blood in microgravity
and the unique challenges of bloodstain pattern analysis aboard
spacecraft. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA to Accept Astronaut Applications
Through April 2</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
NASA will accept applications through April 2 for future Artemis
astronauts who could go to the moon and beyond. The opening of the
application period concurred with 10 new astronaut graduates completing
an initial two years of training. (3/11)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orbit Fab Announces Strategic
Leadership Reorganization to Propel Space Refueling Innovation</span>
(Source: Space Daily)<br>
Orbit Fab had announced a significant reorganization of its leadership
team across the United States and the United Kingdom, aligning with the
swift uptake of its RAFTI refueling ports for future missions. Jacob
Geer, a distinguished figure in the UK's space and defense landscape,
takes the helm as Orbit Fab's UK Managing Director. Meanwhile, Manny
Shar, the architect behind the UK office's transformation into a
multimillion-dollar operation since its 2022 inception, steps into the
role of Chief Strategy Officer. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Refined Chinese Approach to Tracking
Maneuvers of Space Targets Enhances Accuracy </span>(Source: Space
Daily)<br>
Researchers at the Beijing Institute of Technology have made
significant strides in tracking non-cooperative space targets through
maneuvering, unveiling a novel methodology that substantially boosts
tracking accuracy. Their study, focusing on maneuvering trajectories,
introduces a dual-model approach for real-time and precise tracking,
marking a leap in space surveillance capabilities.<br>
<br>
The study initially presents two foundational models for capturing the
intricate movements of space targets: the relative dynamics model and
the indirect measurement model. The former tackles the challenge of
maneuvering trajectory tracking by dissecting short time intervals,
while the latter converts radar measurements into the Local Vertical
Local Horizontal (LVLH) system for immediate applicability. (3/11)<br>
</span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-70437435656461727372024-03-10T05:30:00.005-04:002024-03-10T16:47:05.277-04:00March 10, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">UK Space Agency Selects ispace as Part
of Space Exploration Funding Plan</span> (Source: iSpace)<br>
The UK Space Agency (UKSA) funding plan, which supports several
international exploration projects, including one involving ispace, has
the aim of strengthening the UK’s role in international exploration of
the Moon, Mars, and Venus. As part of the plan, the UKSA announced
funding for the University of Leicester and ispace to develop a Lunar
Spectrometer for future exploration missions to investigate water ice
on the Moon. ispace EUROPE S.A., the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of
ispace, has entered negotiations with the University of Leicester for a
payload transportation services. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Advanced Space Hires Yasmine Almond as
Director of Communications and Public Relations</span> (Source;
Advanced Space)<br>
Advanced Space, LLC, a leading space tech solutions company today
announced the hiring of longtime industry member, Yasmine Almond to
join the team as the Director of Communications and Public Relations.
Almond has made an impact in various ways over the years serving in the
community and industry. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Aerospace Pioneer Joins Zenno
Astronautics Team as CTO</span> (Source: Zenno Astronautics)<br>
New Zealand headquartered space-flight systems company Zenno
Astronautics (Zenno) today announced the appointment of Dr Malcolm
Snowdon as its Chief Technology Officer. As Chief Technology Officer,
Malcolm will lead the technical strategy and product development for
Zenno’s proprietary high-temperature superconducting electromagnet
technology. Bringing to market a range of space applications for
satellite operators and manufacturers, kicking off with fuel-free
attitude control. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Stages for the Inaugural Ariane 6
Flight Currently Being Assembled </span>(Source: Ariane Group)<br>
The main stage and the upper stage for the inaugural Ariane 6 flight
are currently in the central core final assembly line in the Launcher
Assembly Building (BAL) at the ELA4 launch complex. The central core is
made up of the main stage and the upper stage, assembled together with
an inter-stage interface structure. Once assembled, the central core
will then be transferred from the BAL to the launch pad.<br>
<br>
On the launch pad, the central core will be raised to the vertical
position and placed on the launch table. The two boosters will then be
added, one on each side, to form an Ariane 62. Finally, the upper
composite consisting of the fairing and the payloads will then be added
to the launcher on the launch pad. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Funding Boost to Grow Aussie Space
Sector</span> (Source: ASA)<br>
12 new Australian space projects are being supported that will build
capability in our local sector, as well as respond to key challenges
and opportunities like climate change. More than $9 million has been
awarded to projects which align with NASA’s Artemis program, helping
Australian organisations to deliver products and services into global
space supply chains.<br>
<br>
Head of the Australian Space Agency, Enrico Palermo said this
demonstrates how Australian companies are contributing to global space
missions. “These projects show the agility and innovative nature of
Australia’s space companies, and how we can carve our niche in big
international missions,” Mr Palermo said. “Space is a global endeavour
and by working with our partners like NASA we can create outcomes that
benefit Australia, while also contributing to solutions to global
challenges.” (3/1)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Funding to Boost Space Sector
Growth Across the UK</span> (Source: UKSA)<br>
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), one of the nation’s leading
satellite manufacturers, has won a project from the UK Space Agency’s
flagship Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund (SCIF). The £250,000
public investment, matched by the company, will enhance SSTL’s
facilities with a Research and Development Imager Cleanroom in
Guildford. This will support the development of cutting-edge,
space-based imaging technology – the ‘eyes’ of satellites that monitor
our planet and the space environment. <br>
<br>
SCIF, which has awarded £47 million to date, for projects ranging from
a space skills centre in Newcastle to a microgravity research centre in
Cardiff, builds upon the UK Space Agency’s wider investments to develop
the UK space ecosystem. As set out in the Space Industrial Plan, the
government is committed to continuing its support for space clusters
across the UK and providing the tools needed to drive collaboration
between them and catalyse further investment. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spire Global Announces Strong Fourth
Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results; Achieves Positive Cash Flow from
Operations</span> (Source: Spire)<br>
Spire Global announced results for its quarter and year ended December
31, 2023. Fourth quarter 2023 revenue was $27.7 million, representing
the 10th consecutive quarter of record revenue. Full year 2023 revenue
was $105.7 million, representing 32% year-over-year growth, and meeting
our objective of over 30% annual revenue growth. Fourth quarter 2023
cash flow from operations was positive $4.1 million, a sequential
quarter-over-quarter improvement of $9.2 million. Fourth quarter 2023
free cash flow was ($2.2) million, reflecting a $13.9 million
sequential improvement quarter-over-quarter. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">MDA Rebrands to MDA Space</span>
(Source: MDA)<br>
MDA, a trusted mission partner to the rapidly expanding global space
industry, today announced it has rebranded to MDA Space, an identity
evolution that honors the past, recognizes the present, and further
positions the company to lead in a new era of space innovation. MDA
Space has seen extraordinary growth in recent years, with an expanding
operational footprint and a rapidly growing workforce that now numbers
3,000 space engineers, scientists, technicians, and business leaders
across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Deal Agreed for 999-Year Lease on RAS
HQ</span> (Source: Royal Astronomical Society)<br>
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is delighted to announce that an
agreement has been reached with the Government to secure a 999-year
leasehold on the Society’s headquarters in London. It protects the
150-year-old scientific and cultural ecosystem at Burlington House by
transferring ownership of the 19th century building to the Learned
Societies that call it home, including the RAS, the Geological Society
(GSL), the Linnean Society (LSL), the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
and the Society of Antiquaries (SAL). (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Pioneering Space Enrichment Program
Celebrates First Cohort of Graduate Emirati Students</span> (Source:
Yahsat)<br>
Al Yah Satellite Communications Co., the UAE’s flagship satellite
solutions provider, and the National Space Science and Technology
Center (NSSTC) have successfully concluded the first round of their
pioneering Space Enrichment Programme – a first-of-its-kind initiative
in the UAE - with the participation of 70 UAE students.<br>
<br>
The program was implemented in cooperation with the Emirates Schools
Establishment (ESE) and UAE University Science and Innovation Park and
seeks to boost awareness and knowledge of space technologies among
high-school students. It enabled gifted and high-achieving Grade 11 and
12 students to learn about real-life space applications through a
variety of technical tools such as 3D modeling, simulation, and 3D
printing. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">How the SNP Backed the Wrong Horse in
the Scottish Space Race</span> (Source: Sunday Times)<br>
When Jeremy Hunt announced a £10 million UK government investment in
SaxaVord spaceport in last week’s budget, the chancellor confirmed
something the industry had known for years. The rocket launch site at
an old RAF base on Unst in Shetland will win the country’s very own
space race this summer when it beats its rival, Sutherland spaceport,
to become the first place in Europe to send satellites into orbit. Any
delight felt by Frank Strang, chief executive and founder of SaxaVord,
was tempered by anger at his treatment by the Scottish government and
its agencies who had offered scant support to his business over more
than seven years while pouring money into his competitor. (3/10)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Pentagon’s Growing Interest in
SpaceX’s Starship</span> (Source: San Antonio News-Express)<br>
Someday, instead of a U.S. military ship or a humanitarian
organization’s truck, a SpaceX Starship might be the first vehicle to
bring help to people suffering amid disasters, conflicts or other
crises around the world. DoD says the commercial space company’s
spacecraft, which is in development at its Starbase facility near
Boca Chica Beach, eventually could carry out some of its most complex
missions moving tons of cargo around the globe quickly and safely. DOD
has invested more than $120 million in contracts with the company and
others to develop a way to move 100 tons of cargo anywhere on Earth in
two hours or less. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orion Space Solutions Launches an
Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Satellite for DoD</span>
(Source: Arcfield)<br>
Orion Space Solutions (Orion), a wholly owned subsidiary of Arcfield,
announced today that its Rapid Revisit Optical Cloud Imager (RROCI)
satellite successfully launched on Monday, March 4. This
state-of-the-art electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) weather system (EWS)
spacecraft will provide high-resolution Earth observations and infrared
data, allowing for accurate and up-to-date weather forecasting for the
U.S. Space Force's (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC). (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Elon Musk Has a Giant Charity. Its
Money Stays Close to Home </span>(Source: New York Times)<br>
Before March 2021, Elon Musk’s charitable foundation had never
announced any donations to Cameron County, an impoverished region at
the southern tip of Texas that is home to his SpaceX launch site and
local officials who help regulate it. Then, at 8:05 one morning that
month, a SpaceX rocket blew up, showering the area with a rain of
twisted metal. The Musk Foundation began giving at 9:27 a.m. local
time. “Am donating $20M to Cameron County schools & $10M to City of
Brownsville for downtown revitalization,” Mr. Musk said on Twitter.<br>
<br>
At the same time, he runs a charity with billions of dollars, the kind
of resources that could make a global impact. But unlike Bill Gates,
who has deployed his fortune in an effort to improve health care across
Africa, or Walmart’s Walton family, which has spurred change in the
American education system, Mr. Musk’s philanthropy has been haphazard
and largely self-serving — making him eligible for enormous tax breaks
and helping his businesses. (3/10)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ursa Major’s Hadley Rocket Engine
Flies for the First Time</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Rocket propulsion startup Ursa Major announced March 9 its Hadley
engine successfully flew for the first time powering a Stratolaunch
hypersonic test vehicle. Stratolaunch operates a giant aircraft — a
modified version of a double-fuselage Boeing 747-400 — that serves as a
mobile launchpad. It carries hypersonic vehicles underneath its center
wing until reaching the desired altitude. This allows hypersonic
vehicles to reach higher speeds before ignition and avoids the
complexities of ground launching<br>
<br>
The March 9 test off the coast of California, over the Pacific Ocean,
was the first powered flight of Stratolaunch’s Talon hypersonic test
vehicle. The company said the vehicle reached high supersonic speeds
approaching Mach 5. Laurienti said the flight of the Stratolaunch Talon
TA-1 test vehicle marks a major milestone for the Hadley, a
5,000-pound-thrust liquid oxygen and kerosene, oxygen-rich staged
combustion cycle rocket engine. The company uses 3D printing to speed
up the manufacturing process, and claims it can build engines in a
matter of days. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Scientists Intrigued by Water Planet
Where Ocean Appears to Be Boiling</span> (Source: Futurism)<br>
About 70 light years away from our solar system is a planet that may
potentially be covered entirely with water. But before you start
imagining oceans just like the ones here on Earth, astronomers at the
University of Cambridge say the planet-wide sea could be as hot as a
pot of boiling water. The astronomers uncovered this planet after
interpreting data they had picked up using the NASA's James Webb Space
Telescope. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Pioneer Anomaly: What Happened To
Old NASA Probes At 20 Astronomical Units?</span> (Source: IFL Science)<br>
What NASA got from Pioneer 10 and 11 was a weird and intriguing
mystery. At around 20 astronomical units (AU), with one AU being the
distance between the Earth and the Sun, both spacecraft began
accelerating towards the Sun. The probes were still heading out of the
Solar System, but a force was acting on them, pushing them in the
direction of the Sun and slowing their progress. While this may sound
trivial, the fact that both probes went through this at around 20 AU
led some physicists to propose that there was something wrong with our
theory of gravity. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Luxembourg Leaders Focus on Lunar
Exploration at Visit to NASA Ames</span> (Source: NASA)<br>
The challenges of working on the surface of the Moon are at the center
of a facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon
Valley. The Lunar Lab and Regolith Testbeds help scientists and
engineers – from NASA and industry alike – study how well science
instruments, robots, and people might be able to safely work,
manipulate, navigate, and traverse the tough lunar terrain. On March 7,
three visitors from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg learned more about
the work happening here. Luxembourg was one of the first nations to
sign the Artemis Accords and has taken steps to enable commercial space
exploration. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">BlackSky Secures Back-to-Back U.S. Air
Force Contracts</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Earth imaging and analytics company BlackSky won a $3.5 million
contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to supply satellite
imagery and analysis in support of “global moving target engagement,”
the Air Force said. This award comes on the heels of a research
contract last year, and a $2 million award announced March 4 to supply
the Air Force satellite imagery data and access to the BlackSky data
analytics platform. Under the $2 million contract, the AFRL will use
the data for studies and to help train artificial intelligence models
focused on detecting and tracking moving objects and targets from
space. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">France Prepares for Space Wars in
‘AsterX’ European Exercise</span> (Source: C4ISRnet)<br />
In silent orbit around Earth, a potentially hostile satellite
approaches an allied communication node, intentions unknown. French
Space Command has determined the move is deliberate, and intelligence
shows the enemy spacecraft is equipped with a robotic arm that would
allow it to de-orbit the friendly asset. The French-led blue team moves
a “patroller” satellite into a protective position – a capability
France is working on, but now lacks – to block any hostile action by
the U.S.-led red team. (3/8)While fictional, the scenario played out on
Thursday during Europe’s largest space wargames is credible and based
on real capabilities, said Colonel Mathieu Bernabé. (3/8)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Targeting Sunday Night for Next
Falcon 9 Launch From Cape Canaveral Spaceport</span> (Source: Florida
Today)<br />
SpaceX is targeting Sunday night at 7:05 p.m. for its next Falcon 9
rocket launch from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport — hours after a series
of showers and thunderstorms should sweep off the Space Coast. In fact,
the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts 95% odds of "go for
launch" weather conditions. (3/9)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Congress Clears FY2024 Funding Bills
for NASA, NOAA, FAA</span> (Source: Space Policy Online)<br />
FY2024 funding for NASA, NOAA and the FAA cleared the Senate tonight
hours before funding would have run out at midnight. President Biden is
expected to sign the bill expeditiously. Funding for departments and
agencies, including DOD, in six other appropriations bills are still
pending with a March 22 expiration date. All of this occurs more than 5
months into FY2024 and just days before Biden submits his budget
request for FY2025.<br />
<br />
After months of wrangling and four Continuing Resolutions (CRs) to keep
the government operating after FY2024 began on October 1, 2023,
Congress has finally passed a $467.5 billion FY2024 “minibus” bill for
six of the 12 regular appropriations bills: Agriculture,
Commerce-Justice-Science (including NASA and NOAA), Energy-Water,
Interior, Milcon-VA, and Transportation-HUD (including the FAA and its
Office of Commercial Space Transportation). Negotiations over funding
for the other six, including DOD, continue with March 22 as the
deadline. (3/8)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">First Stars in the Universe Found by
JWST</span> (Source: Cosmos)<br />
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has yet again peered into the
early universe giving scientists new insights into how the first stars
formed galaxies. Our universe is about 13.8 billion years old. The JWST
has wowed astronomers by revealing ancient galaxies that challenge our
understanding of how they form. Within the first 6 months of its
scientific operations in 2022, JWST broke Hubble’s record for the
furthest confirmed galaxy. JWST’s galaxy, known as JADES-GS-z13-0 is
believed to have formed “only” 325 million years after the Big Bang.
This is more than 100 million years earlier than Hubble’s record which
was held by the galaxy GN-z11, discovered in 2015. (3/7)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS Schedule Conflicts Delay Starliner
Crewed Test Flight to May </span>(Source: Space News)<br />
The first crewed flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has slipped from
late April to early May because of International Space Station schedule
conflicts and not due to any issues with the spacecraft itself. In a
media advisory released by NASA late March 8, the agency said the Crew
Flight Test (CFT) mission, previously scheduled to launch no earlier
than April 22, was now scheduled for early March. The agency said the
slip was “due to space station scheduling” but did not elaborate. (3/8)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-6579832265614736182024-03-09T05:00:00.003-05:002024-03-09T11:14:38.773-05:00March 9, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mystery KSC Visitor Complex Tourist
Attraction in the Planning Stage</span> (Source: Florida Today)<br>
Officials at the KSC Visitor Complex declined to divulge details,
saying announcements will occur in the near future. But a NASA draft
environmental assessment reveals the mystery attraction will occupy 4.1
acres and reach up to nine stories tall just south of the space shuttle
Atlantis building. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Big, Dead Satellite's Crash Was a
Space-Junk Wakeup Call</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
There is some interesting residual fallout from the recent nosedive to
Earth of the European Remote Sensing satellite, or ERS-2. Following its
launch in April 1995, ERS-2 studied our planet for nearly 16 years. The
willy-nilly nature of an out-of-control satellite fall is cause for the
willies. Darren McKnight at LeoLabs said that the probability of
casualties on the ground from a single reentry is small. However, the
aggregate risk grows over time. <br>
<br>
"It is not a question of 'if' but rather 'when' a derelict object will
survive to Earth's surface and result in significant damage, a fatality
or injury," McKnight told Space.com. And when that fateful day arrives,
there will be an uproar regarding uncontrolled satellite reentries,
McKnight said. The "global standard" is the 25-year rule — that is, get
each satellite out of orbit within 25 years of the end of its mission,
he added. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Justin Sun's $28 Trillion Trip to
Nowhere</span> (Source: Protos)<br>
Serial crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who has also paid for lunch with
Warren Buffett and to briefly be a representative to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) for Grenada, spent $28 million to win an auction
giving him first dibs on a trip to space through Blue Origin. If he’d
appeared for the initial launch, he’d have been joined by Jeff Bezos
and his brother Mark but apparently, there was a scheduling conflict.
Sun also pushed his multi-million dollar, auction-won lunch with Warren
Buffett back multiple times, claiming he was suffering from kidney
stones.<br>
<br>
The reluctance to take his already-paid-for trip into space is harder
to understand. Sun has seemingly shut down most of his connections with
the US mainland and has refused to appear for six Blue Origin launches.
Coincidentally, he’s also in the midst of numerous lawsuits and court
cases, with an SEC trial set to begin soon and a slew of civil suits,
some of which have been settled. It’s unclear if Justin Sun has lost
the will to travel into space or has decided against ever setting foot
in America again. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space One Postpones Bid to be Japan's
First Private Firm to Put Satellite in Orbit</span> (Sources: Japan
Times, Ars Technica)<br>
Tokyo-based startup Space One, racing to be Japan’s first
private-sector firm to put a satellite into orbit, postponed the launch
of its solid-fueled rocket on Saturday morning after a ship was
detected in the downrange "maritime warning area." The launch was
initially scheduled to take place from a new space facility in
Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, shortly after 11 a.m., but the ship was
detected in the area with just 10 minutes to go. <br>
<br>
Kozo Abe said there were no technical problems with the launch and that
the next attempt could come as soon as Wednesday, with the company
likely to give a more detailed schedule at least two days before the
new date. Space One is aiming to use its Kairos rocket to put a small
government satellite into orbit. The Kairos rocket will launch with a
small "quick response" spacecraft for the Cabinet Intelligence and
Research Office, which is responsible for Japan's fleet of spy
satellites. (3/9)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">US Once Considered a Program to
Reverse-Engineer Alien Spacecraft</span> (Source: Politico)<br>
The Pentagon has disclosed that the government once considered a
program to recover and reverse-engineer any captured alien spacecraft,
an effort that never came to fruition but fueled conspiracy theories
about a cover-up. A program was proposed to the Department of Homeland
Security in the 2010s, code-named “Kona Blue,” to reverse-engineer any
recovered extraterrestrial craft. The effort was eventually rejected by
DHS leaders “for lacking merit.” (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Eyes Expanded Network of
‘Neighborhood Watch’ Satellites</span> (Source: C4ISRnet)<br>
The Space Force said it may develop a new constellation of domain
awareness satellites to detect and track objects in geosynchronous
orbit, about 22,000 miles above Earth. Space Systems Command — the
service’s acquisition arm — is in the early phases of planning for the
capability, according to March 5 notice, and is seeking industry
feedback as it studies the prospect of increasing its portfolio of
observation satellites. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Widespread Solar Storm Struck
Spacecraft Near the Sun, Earth and Even Mars</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
A solar outburst on April 17, 2021 was so widespread that six
spacecraft at different locations and positions felt the blast.
High-speed protons and electrons, also known as solar energetic
particles (SEPs), were observed by spacecraft not only between the sun
and Earth, but as far away as between Earth and Mars! According to
NASA, this was the first time something like this has happened. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mystery of Jupiter's Great Blue Spot
Deepens with Strangely Fluctuating Jet</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
The mysterious workings of Jupiter's intense magnetic field are coming
to light, thanks to a tiny jet buried deep in the gas giant's
atmosphere. Every four years, this jet appears to fluctuate like a
wave. While it's not yet clear what drives this atmospheric jet, new
findings reveal some clues about the invisible, complex workings of an
intense area of magnetism near Jupiter's equator, dubbed the "Great
Blue Spot." (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">UCF Study Unlocking the Icy Secrets of
Neptune's Birth</span> (Source: SciTech Daily)<br>
A ring of icy rocks orbiting our sun just beyond Neptune may give us a
glimpse of how Neptune — and other objects in the outskirts of our
solar system — were formed. Mors-Somnus, a binary duo comprised of a
pair of icy asteroids bound by gravity, was recently concluded to have
originated within the Kuiper Belt, meaning it can serve as a basis to
study and enrich our understanding of the dynamical history of Neptune
and celestial bodies known as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).<br>
<br>
The promising study marks the first time this has been achieved and
serves as a significant landmark for the UCF-led Discovering the
Surface Compositions of Trans-Neptunian Objects program — or DiSCo-TNOs
— which is part of the first cycle of the James Webb Space Telescope’s
(JWST) many programs focused on analyzing our solar system. Ana
Carolina de Souza Feliciano and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso, a postdoctoral
fellow and professor in planetary science at UCF’s Florida Space
Institute respectively, are co-authors of the study. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Targets 2030 for Mars Sample
Return Mission, Potential Landing Areas Revealed</span> (Source: Space
News)<br>
China is making progress towards a 2030 launch for its Tianwen-3 Mars
sample return mission and has narrowed down potential landing areas.
Work on China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission is progressing
“relatively smoothly” and will launch around 2030, said Sun Zezhou. <br>
<br>
China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return architecture is a simpler approach
than NASA’s, yet is still a very complex mission. Two Long March 5
launches will carry a lander and ascent vehicle and an orbiter and
return module respectively. Entry, descent and landing will build on
technology used for the Tianwen-1 rover landing. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Terran Orbital 'Looking at
Everything,' CEO Says After Lockheed Martin Takeover Bid</span>
(Source: CNBC)<br>
Satellite manufacturer Terran Orbital is “looking at everything”
regarding the company’s future, said CEO Marc Bell, as it considers
Lockheed Martin’s acquisition offer. “We found out about [Lockheed’s
takeover bid] when the rest of the world found out about it,” Bell said
on CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast.<br>
<br>
Lockheed’s proposal submitted last week values Terran Orbital at nearly
$600 million, or about a third of its equity valuation from when the
company went public via a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC,
two years ago. The defense giant is already a significant stakeholder
in Terran Orbital, with a 28.3% stake. Terran Orbital declined to
comment on a shareholder lawsuit filed Wednesday in response to the
company’s board adopting a “poison pill” stock rights plan after
Lockheed’s offer. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Turn $10k Into a Fortune With These 3
High-Risk, High-Reward Space Stocks</span> (Source: Investor Place)<br>
Today’s high-risk space stocks to buy represent a slice of tomorrow’s
$1 trillion space sector. Rocket Lab USA (RKLB): A billion-dollar
backlog represents solid revenue streams over the next few years.
Planet Labs PBC (PL): A US Navy contract affirms the space imagery
company’s utility. AST SpaceMobile (ASTS): The space-based telecom race
boils down to two key competitors. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Russia, China Planning For Joint
Nuclear Power Plant On The Moon By 2035</span> (Source: Forbes)<br />
Plans for installing a joint nuclear power plant on the moon’s surface
within the next decade are being considered by Russian and Chinese
officials, the head of Russia’s space agency said Tuesday, a project he
said could allow for the development of lunar settlements amid similar
efforts by the U.S.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creation of Vulcan: ULA's Mark
Peller</span> (Source: NSF)<br />
In this special episode of NSF Live, Lon talks with Mark Peller, who is
VP of Major Development at United Launch Alliance, and responsible for
the development of the Vulcan Rocket, that just debuted at the
beginning of this year, with the launch of the Peregrine Lunar lander.
We will talk about the development, and the future of the Vulcan
launcher. Click here. (3/6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE8mYvW3qY8<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Central Florida Man Among NASA’s
Newest Astronauts Known as ‘The Flies’</span> (Source: Orlando Sentinel)<br />
NASA’s astronauts corps swelled with a new class of graduates Tuesday,
including one man who grew up watching space shuttles launch from his
Volusia County schoolyard. Luke Delaney, 44, who was born in Miami but
raised in DeBary and attended both DeLand and Deltona High School in
Volusia, was one of 10 NASA astronaut candidates along with two
international candidates from the United Arab Emirates chosen as
members of the 23rd astronaut group in December 2021 from among 12,000
applicants. (3/5)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Unveils Design for Message
Heading to Jupiter’s Moon Europa</span> (Source: NASA)<br />
When it launches in October, the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft
will carry a richly layered dispatch that includes more than 2.6
million names submitted by the public. Following in NASA’s storied
tradition of sending inspirational messages into space, the agency has
special plans for Europa Clipper, which later this year will launch
toward Jupiter’s moon Europa. <br />
<br />
At the heart of the artifact is an engraving of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada
Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” along
with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names
submitted by the public. The microchip will be the centerpiece of an
illustration of a bottle amid the Jovian system – a reference to NASA’s
“Message in a Bottle” campaign, which invited the public to send their
names with the spacecraft. (3/8)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-48880396796086090072024-03-08T05:30:00.004-05:002024-03-08T12:39:14.785-05:00March 8, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pentagon Review Finds No Evidence of
Alien Cover-Up</span> (Source: New York Times)<br>
The new congressionally mandated Pentagon report found no evidence that
the government was covering up knowledge of extraterrestrial technology
and said there was no evidence that any U.F.O. sightings represented
alien visitation to Earth. The 63-page document is the most sweeping
rebuttal the Pentagon has issued in recent years to counter claims that
it has information on extraterrestrial visits or technology. But amid
widespread distrust of the government, the report is unlikely to calm a
growing obsession with aliens. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astra Deal Takes Launch Company Private</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Astra Space has accepted a proposal from its founders to take the
company private. The satellite propulsion and launch vehicle company
announced Thursday that its board approved a revised proposal from
Chris Kemp and Adam London, CEO and CTO respectively, to take the
company private at $0.50 per share. The deal is expected to close in
the second quarter, after which Astra will no longer be publicly traded
but instead owned by "a number of long-term investors" in the company,
including Kemp and London. Astra said in a regulatory filing last week
that, if that deal fell through, its only option was a Chapter 7
bankruptcy liquidation. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Slingshot Expands in UK</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Space situational awareness company Slingshot Aerospace is expanding
its presence in the U.K. The company announced it is opening offices in
the country to lead a new international business division for the U.S.
company. Melissa Quinn, previously head of the company’s Seradata space
data analysis team, will lead the division. The offices will work to
secure more government and commercial customers for its space domain
awareness services. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Renewed OSC Push for Debris Mitigation
Regulations</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The Office of Space Commerce is seeking input on a proposal to
reinstate orbital debris mitigation regulations for companies that
receive commercial remote sensing licenses. The company dropped
specific requirements for orbital debris mitigation plans for
spacecraft it licenses in 2020 because, at the time, nearly all
licensees also had FCC licenses, which had their own orbital debris
regulations. <br>
<br>
However, the office states in an RFI to be published in the Federal
Register that it has noticed an increasing number of companies seeking
commercial remote sensing licenses that go outside the U.S. for
spectrum licenses, or are considering optical communications
technologies not licensed by the FCC. The office is studying whether
and how this potential loophole should be closed. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Congressional Appropriation Failures
Cost Space Force $4 Billion </span>(Source: Breaking Defense)<br>
Failure to pass a fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill could cost the
Space Force nearly $4 billion. Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of
space operations, said at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference
Thursday that the service would lose out on $3.9 billion if Congress
instead enacts a full-year continuing resolution, keeping funding at
2023 levels, instead of a regular appropriations bill. <br>
<br>
That would keep the Space Force from funding seven launches under the
National Security Space Launch program, he said. The Defense Department
is among the agencies operating under a continuing resolution through
March 22 as Congress attempts to finalize a spending bill. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain's Sateliot Plans IoT
Constellation, Seeks Investment</span> (Source: Reuters)<br>
Spanish startup Sateliot is seeking to raise 100 million euros ($109
million) to build out an Internet of Things constellation. The
company's CEO, Jaume Sanpera, said Thursday that he is looking to raise
the money through a mix of equity and debt to allow the company to
deploy a constellation of 100 smallsats. The company has launched two
demonstration satellites to date and its first four commercial
satellites are slated to launch in June. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sierra Space Completes Dream Chaser
Testing </span>(Source: Sierra Space)<br>
Sierra Space has completed the first phase of environmental testing of
its Dream Chaser spacecraft. The company said Thursday that the Dream
Chaser vehicle Tenacity, along with its Shooting Star cargo module,
wrapped up vibration testing at NASA's Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio.
They will now undergo thermal vacuum testing there before shipping to
Florida for a launch later this year to the International Space
Station. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Picks 15 Companies for Tech Demos</span>
(Source: NASA)<br>
NASA has selected 15 companies to provide services for two technology
demonstration programs. The companies, which include those that operate
high-altitude balloons, suborbital and orbital launch vehicles, and
spacecraft, will be eligible to provide flight and payload integration
services for its Flight Opportunities and Small Spacecraft Technology
programs. The overall indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract
has a maximum value of $45 million across all 15 companies over five
years. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Interstellar Signal Linked to Aliens
Was Actually Just a Truck</span> (Source: Johns Hopkins University)<br>
Scientists who thought they found evidence of an interstellar meteor
may have instead detected… a truck. Researchers in a paper last year
described how they used seismic signals detected at a station in Papua
New Guinea to narrow down the reentry location of a meteor they
believed came from outside the solar system and could even have
artificial origins. <br>
<br>
However, a reanalysis of the data by another team found that the
seismic signals instead came from a truck driving by the station. That
means that an expedition later mounted to grab fragments of the meteor
from the sea floor went to the wrong location. "Whatever was found on
the sea floor is totally unrelated to this meteor, regardless of
whether it was a natural space rock or a piece of alien spacecraft,"
the lead scientist of the new study stated. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Muon Space's Second EO Bird, MuSat2,
Deployed and Communicating</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Muon Space, an innovative space systems provider that is reshaping
Earth monitoring from orbit, has reported the successful launch and
operational readiness of its latest satellite, MuSat2. This marks a
significant milestone for the company as it continues to push the
boundaries of what's possible with satellite technology. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Mongolia Enters the Space Race with
First Satellites</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Mongolia marked its entry by launching its inaugural satellites,
catalyzing an era of innovation and amplifying the potential for
investment in its evolving tech domain. On March 4, Space-X's
Falcon-9 rocket carried two Mongolian low-earth-orbit nano satellites,
Ondosat-Owl-1 and Ondosat-Owl-2, into space. These satellites,
developed by the Mongolian enterprise Ondo Space, have passed the
stringent space environmental testing at Japan's Kyushu Institute of
Technology. (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Viasat and Rocket Lab Unveil Advanced
Data Services for LEO Satellites</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Viasat has partnered with Rocket Lab to introduce a groundbreaking
spacecraft bus and mission operation support for its upcoming hybrid
space communications network demonstrations. These initiatives aim to
showcase Viasat's comprehensive suite of multi-band, space-based
communication services designed to significantly improve the
flexibility, latency, and throughput of data management for Low Earth
Orbit (LEO) satellite missions in real time. This collaboration is part
of Viasat's involvement in two projects, awarded a combined total of
$80 million, under NASA's Communications Services Project (CSP). (3/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">CR Could Force Cancellation of NSA
Missions</span> (Source: Breaking Defense)<br>
Gen. Michael Guetlein, vice chief of the US Space Force, warns that the
failure of Congress to pass a 2024 defense budget, opting instead for a
continuing resolution, could lead to a potential loss of billions for
the Space Force. This financial shortfall under a CR could result in
the cancellation of National Security Space Launches. (3/7) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject of Alien Life a Major Topic at
SXSW</span> (Source: Austin Chronicle)<br>
Savannah Horton of the Aerospace Industries Association highlights the
risks of space exploration, cautioning, "Contamination is a very real
concern in space policy as we explore further into the solar system,"
and humorously advises against making physical contact with
extraterrestrials. Despite her practical stance on space policy, Horton
admits to the likelihood of alien life in the universe and confesses
she would be "truly awestruck" and rendered speechless if she ever
encountered an alien. (3/8) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Midland Spaceport Development
Continues to Rise with Addition of Space Force Partner</span> (Source:
News 9 West)<br>
Spaceport development continues to be an area of focus in Midland. On
Monday, the Midland Development Corporation approved an agreement for
the Texas Chapter of the Space Force Association to be headquartered
right in West Texas. The Spaceport Business Park at the Midland
International Air and Space Port is an area well known to aerospace
industry folks statewide and beyond. <br>
<br>
The business and development currently seen in the Tall City might be
just getting started as the Space Force Association sees the potential
that Midland’s air and space port can provide. The Texas Chapter of the
Space Force Association has been around for over two years, and they
now have a place in Texas to call home. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Engineer Accused of Sexual
Assault Arrested at Johnson Space Center</span> (Source: KTRK)<br>
As investigators search for more possible victims, NASA revealed an
aerospace engineer accused of sexually assaulting two women was
arrested while at the workplace. On Thursday, the agency confirmed to
Eyewitness News that 37-year-old Eric Sim was placed in handcuffs at
Houston's Johnson Space Center last Friday, Feb. 29. Despite NASA not
referencing the employee's name in a statement, court documents stated
Sim was arrested that day. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">BrainChip Boosts Space Heritage with
Launch of Akida into Low Earth Orbit </span>(Source: Space Daily)<br>
BrainChip Holdings has successfully launched its Akida AI system into
low earth orbit on the Optimus-1 spacecraft. This event, facilitated by
the Space Machines Company, marks a significant advancement in the use
of AI for space technology applications. The Akida technology is
integrated into the ANT61 Brain computer, which operates as the main
control unit for robots designed for the repair and maintenance of
space vehicles. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidus Space LizzieSat Deployed After
Transporter Launch</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Sidus Space reported the successful launch and deployment of its
LizzieSat satellites aboard SpaceX's Transporter-10 Rideshare mission.
The LizzieSat satellite is designed to revolutionize space-based data
collection and analysis through its innovative Space Platform with a
Purpose and FeatherEdge AI integration. Sidus Space aims to extend its
customer base across both military and commercial sectors, providing
tailored intelligence solutions for a range of industries including
defense, agriculture, maritime, and oil and gas. <span
style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Editor's Note</span>:
No word yet from Sidus Space on whether LizzieSat is functioning as
planned. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">US Steps Up Focus on Orbital Debris</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
The US government is addressing the longstanding issue of hazardous
space debris, with recent initiatives marking a significant shift
toward finding solutions for the cluttered orbits that have accumulated
over seven decades of space exploration. Highlighting this new stance,
the Federal Communications Commission has issued a fine for not a
company's failure to relocate a satellite to a safe orbit. (3/6) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Musk Lashes Out at Bezos' Ex-Wife for
DEI Charitable Giving</span> (Source: Business Insider)<br>
Elon Musk isn't a fan of MacKenzie Scott's charitable giving. "'Super
rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should [...] be listed
among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died,'" Musk wrote referencing
Jeff Bezos' ex-wife. Musk was responding to another user who said Scott
had been giving money to organizations that "deal with issues of race
and/or gender."<br>
<br>
Musk has become an avowed and extremely vocal critic of efforts to
promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. "DEI is just another word for
racism. Shame on anyone who uses it," Musk wrote in January. A
Musk-backed foundation has donated to various causes, including
renewable energy, space exploration, and artificial intelligence,
according to its website. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Selects Momentus for a Five-Year
Contract to Enhance Space Operation Technologies</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
Momentus was selected by NASA to receive a significant
indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) base contract. This
award positions Momentus as a pivotal player among 15 companies chosen
to support the United States' space exploration and technology
advancement efforts over the next five years. The contract's scope
includes offering comprehensive flight and payload integration services
designed to propel technologies and methodologies for space operations
into a new era. Under this prestigious contract, Momentus is tasked
with facilitating the deployment of satellites, payloads, and
scientific instruments. (3/7)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">GITAI Tests Robotic Construction of
Lunar Comms Tower</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
GITAI USA has successfully showcased its advanced robotics technology
through the construction of a 5-meter-high communication tower. This
achievement was realized in a desert environment designed to simulate
the lunar surface, representing a "first of its kind" demonstration in
space robotics. GITAI and Japan's KDDI Corporation led this pioneering
project. The demonstration utilized GITAI's robotics products
exclusively: the Lunar Rover and three Inchworm robots equipped with
grapple end-effectors. (3/7)<br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-11438256462672840782024-03-07T04:30:00.003-05:002024-03-08T18:03:12.530-05:00March 7, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Coast Meetings on Potential
Starship-Super Heavy Operations</span> (Source: WFTV)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Musk's Bid to Keep SpaceX Labor Suit
in Texas Is Denied on Appeal</span> (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">From France to the Moon: Rocket
Simulator Opens in Toulouse</span> (Source: EuroNews)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Camden County Votes to Dissolve
Spaceport Authority</span> (Source: TGV News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Planet Labs gets U.S. Navy contract
for maritime surveillance in the Pacific</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SaxaVord Spaceport Getting Closer to
the Much Anticipated First Launch</span> (Source: Shetland News)<br>
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.<br>
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”.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia Could Launch its First
private Orbital Rocket Within Weeks</span> (Source: New Scientist)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA May Be Dodging Rules That
Restrict Employee Travel On Government Planes</span> (Source: Forbes)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Canadian Space Agency Closing Research
Lab Key to International Space Station, Canadarm</span> (Source: CBC)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Force Agencies Pile On to Find
‘Alternate PNT’ Capabilities</span> (Source: Breaking Defense)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Space Tourists Need Better Warnings
About Cosmic Radiation Exposure</span> (Source: University of Surrey)<br>
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)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Can Artificial Intelligence–Based
Systems Spot Hard-to-Detect Space Debris?</span> (Source: WILEY)<br>
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.<br>
<br>
“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)<br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-55953642811521910752024-03-06T13:05:00.003-05:002024-03-06T13:05:41.838-05:00March 6, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delays Continue for FAA
Reauthorization </span>(Source: AIN)<br>
The US House has voted to extend the deadline for passing the
comprehensive Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill
until May, a stopgap expected to also clear the Senate, marking the
third temporary extension since September. This extension moves the
deadline from March 8, set by the previous extension in December.
(2/29) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Blue Origin is Getting Serious About
Developing a Human Spacecraft</span> (Source: Ars Technica)<br>
Blue Origin has been hard at work developing hardware that will fly on
New Glenn, such as the Blue Ring transfer vehicle that will be used to
ferry satellites into precise orbits. In addition, work continues on a
private space station called Orbital Reef. One of the key questions
about that space station is how astronauts will get there. The only
current means of US crew transportation to low-Earth orbit is via Blue
Origin's direct competitor, SpaceX, with its Dragon vehicle. This is
likely unpalatable for Bezos.<br>
<br>
Boeing is an official partner on Orbital Reef. It has a crewed
spacecraft, Starliner, set to make its debut flight in April. But there
are serious questions about Boeing's long-term commitment to Starliner
beyond its seven contracted missions with NASA. Blue Origin has also
had some discussions with India about using its new crew capsule. All
of these options have downsides, especially for a company that has a
vision of "millions of people living and working in space." It has long
been understood that Blue Origin will eventually develop a crewed
spacecraft vehicle. But when?<br>
<br>
Now, apparently. The crew project has now become a major initiative
within Blue Origin. Last year the company was one of seven to sign an
unfunded Space Act Agreement to design advanced commercial space
projects. NASA revealed that Blue Origin was working on a "commercial
space transportation system." This included a reusable spacecraft that
would launch on the New Glenn rocket. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Firefly Aerospace Announces Second
Round of DREAM Payload Awardees</span> (Source: Firefly Aerospace)<br>
Firefly Aerospace has selected three educational payloads to launch
aboard Firefly’s Alpha rocket as early as 2025. As part of Firefly’s
DREAM (Dedicated Research Education Accelerator Mission) program,
Firefly is donating excess capacity on its Alpha launch vehicle to fly
CubeSats from the University of Illinois, Auburn University, and the
Aerospace and Innovation Academy in Florida. <br>
<br>
Aerospace and Innovation Academy’s WolfSat-1 CubeSat will test the
viability of the Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria on orbit and assess its
ability to degrade polyethylene terephthalate, a major component of
single-use plastics. This demonstration aims to enable an efficient
waste recycling system for prolonged crewed missions and minimize the
risk of plastic pollution on future lunar and Martian colonies. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rocket Lab: Why the Space Sector is
'Far-Reaching'</span> (Source: Yahoo! Finance)<br>
Peter Beck elaborates on the growth of the space industry and how
companies like Rocket Lab are positioned to deliver far-reaching
services: "We see that businesses that typically haven't had anything
to do with space becoming quite reliant on it. And our view [is] that
the large, successful space companies of the future are not going to be
solely a launch company or solely a satellite manufacturing company.
Click <a
href="https://finance.yahoo.com/video/rocket-lab-why-space-sector-180130298.html">here</a>.
(3/5) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Transporter Rideshare Payload Will
Track Climate-Warming Pollution</span> (Source: NPR)<br>
MethaneSAT – led by the Environmental Defense Fund – will have a
targeted focus: to spot methane from the oil and gas industry, which
leaks at various parts of the fossil fuel production process. Sometimes
oil companies deliberately burn methane gas if they can't pipe it
somewhere. Reducing methane pollution can help the world meet its
climate targets, but for years researchers had little understanding of
where exactly methane leaks were coming from. Recent projects have
helped give a clearer picture, but the data hasn't always been public,
or precise – especially from oil fields. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">First Apex Spacecraft Working Well
After Launch</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Spacecraft manufacturer Apex says its first satellite is alive and well
after a launch March 4. The Los Angeles-based company has made contact
with and is successfully operating its Aries SN1 spacecraft, which was
one of 53 payloads launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare
mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. <br>
<br>
Apex had planned to use Aries SN1 solely as a technology demonstration
mission. However, the company lined up several customers to fly
payloads on the spacecraft, including three “major defense primes” and
others the company declined to disclose. He said those customers are
flying payloads that range from communications to edge computing to
space domain awareness. Apex also has a payload on the spacecraft, a
“selfie camera” to take images of the spacecraft with Earth in the
background. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Exotrail 'Spacevan-001' Tug Deploys
Endurosat Cubesat on Transporter Mission</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Exotrail has deployed a satellite from its first orbital transfer
vehicle. The company said Wednesday that its spacevan-001 tug deployed
last week a cubesat built by Endurosat. That cubesat carries an Airbus
Defence and Space payload to test technology to "detumble" satellites
that have lost attitude control. Exotrail launched spacevan-001 in
November on the Transpoter-9 mission and had been performing a
step-by-step checkout of the spacecraft before deploying the cubesat.
The tug also carries a hosted payload from Veoware, a Belgian startup
developing control moment gyros and reaction wheels. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Orion Weather Satellite Launched
Aboard Transporter Mission for Space Force</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A satellite launched Monday is the Space Force's second attempt to
demonstrate weather satellite technologies. The
Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather Systems (EWS) demonstration cubesat,
built by Orion Space Solutions, launched Monday on the Transporter-10
rideshare mission by SpaceX. Over a planned one-year demonstration, the
Space Force wants to assess the capabilities of the cubesat to provide
timely weather imagery data from space as DoD looks to avoid a gap in
weather coverage with the impending retirement of the decades-old
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites. A previous EWS
cubesat technology demonstration was launched on Transporter-6
rideshare last January but failed to separate properly from the upper
stage. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sidus Space Stock Offering Raises $7.9
Million</span> (Source: Sidus Space)<br>
Sidus Space announced the closing of its public offering of 1,321,000
shares of its Class A common stock at a public offering price of $6.00
per share for gross proceeds of $7,926,000, before deducting
underwriting discounts and offering expenses. The company intends to
use the proceeds from the offering for working capital and general
corporate purposes. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Agile Space Wins Contract for
Deployable Satellite Processing Unit</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A mobile satellite integration facility designed by the space
propulsion startup Agile Space won a contract from the U.S. Space Force
to further develop the concept. The Space Force’s technology arm
SpaceWERX awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research
Phase 2 contract for its Mobile Payload Processing Center. <br>
<br>
Agile Space was one of 19 companies that received SBIR Phase 2
contracts under the so-called Tactically Responsive Space Challenge, a
program seeking private-sector technologies to help accelerate space
missions. The 19 winners split about $34 million in program funding.
(3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Steps Being Taken to Officially Kill
Georgia Spaceport Effort </span>(Source: Camden 1st)<br>
Representative Steven Sainz and Commissioner Trevor Readdick hoped to
rush through an “emergency” resolution Tuesday to dissolve the
Camden County Spaceport Authority. If they do not approve a resolution
Tuesday, they cannot meet the statutory requirement to advertise the
official vote in time for Steven Sainz to get it on the legislative
calendar for 2024. The emergency resolution is needed because
Commissioners Casey, Brant, Readdick, and Martin have steadfastly
refused to consider killing anything related to the already-dead
spaceport. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Satellites Link Areas After Undersea
Cables Cut</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Satellites are helping restore communications links between Europe and
Asia disrupted by severed subsea cables. Four of 15 submarine cables in
the Red Sea have been cut in the Red Sea near Yemen, affecting about
25% of the traffic passing from Europe through the Middle East to Asia.
Intelsat said that a couple customers who had been using those cables
have turned to its satellites as a backup. Subsea cable users with
antennas and other equipment already in place to tap into a satellite
network backup can get communications restored within 15 minutes,
Intelsat said. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China Outlines Position on Use of
Space Resources</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
The Chinese government has taken a positive stance towards using space
resources. In a document filed with a U.N. working group examining the
legal issues associated with space resource utilization, the Chinese
government said it considers those activities as permissible under
international law, but added they need to comply with the Outer Space
Treaty, such a provision prohibiting countries from making territorial
claims on the moon or other celestial bodies. One expert saw the
Chinese document as a positive development and one largely aligned with
the broader international consensus on the use of space resources. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Graduates Latest Astronaut Class</span>
(Source: CollectSpace)<br>
NASA's newest astronaut class formally graduated Tuesday as the agency
prepares for the next class. The 10 members of the Group 23 class
officially became astronauts Tuesday after completing two years of
training. They were joined by two Emirati astronauts who also
participated in the training. There are now 48 active NASA astronauts,
five of whom are currently on the International Space Station. NASA
announced Tuesday it was starting recruitment for the next astronaut
class, with applications due April 2. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Addresses the Crack in the Hatch
of the Crew-8 Spacecraft</span> (Source: Digital Trends)<br>
NASA and SpaceX have sent off the latest batch of astronauts to visit
the International Space Station, with the launch of the Crew-8 mission
late last night. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched from Launch
Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida just before 11
p.m. ET on Sunday, March 3, but there was a risk during that the launch
might have been cancelled due to a crack discovered in the hatch seal
of the spacecraft around 30 minutes before liftoff. <br>
<br>
While engineers were doing a final check of the hatch following its
closure, including taking photos of the seal, they noticed a crack in
the RTV (a type of silicone), which acts as a top coating on the hatch
seal. The crack is estimated to be 0.02 square inches, and a crack
would have to be more than twice that size to be enough to prevent the
launch.<br>
<br>
“This is one of multiple redundant seals in this area. It’s kind of a
top coating over the pressure seal, which is then over the main seal
for the hatch,” explained Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission
Management, SpaceX. “This material expands under heating so we expect
that actually a defect of this size would self-heal during the launch
process.” (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ISS National Lab Announces STEM
Education and Workforce Development Funding Opportunity</span> (Source:
CASIS)<br>
The ISS National Laboratory is soliciting research to leverage the
orbiting outpost for education programs and training for space-focused
careers. This ISS National Lab Research Announcement (NLRA) is open to
U.S.-based institutions (academic, commercial, government, or
not-for-profit) with a vested interest in workforce development and
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The
solicitation has up to $600,000 total allocated funding, with the
expectation to award four to five projects. <br>
<br>
Proposals must seek to create or expand education programs, projects,
or public-private partnerships that leverage the space station or
space-based research to engage post-secondary students (including
colleges, universities, community or junior colleges, and vocational
institutions), enhance K-12 learning, or provide professional
development experiences for formal and informal educators. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Terran Orbital Wins $15 Million for
Space Force Experiment Satellites</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Terran Orbital has won a $15 million contract to support U.S. Space
Force experiments. The contract was awarded by the defense contractor
Axient Corp. on behalf of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
Axient won a contract from AFRL to manage small-satellite military
experiments. Terran Orbital will provide Axient with two of the
company’s Ambassador-class satellite platforms and support equipment,
and to integrate payloads for upcoming U.S. Space Force missions. Those
satellite buses, to be delivered within 12 months, are similar to those
Terran Orbital builds for Lockheed Martin for its Space Development
Agency Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites. (3/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">US to Invest Billions in Simulation,
Training</span> (Source: Army Technology)<br>
The US is preparing for a significant increase in military simulation
and training investment, projecting to spend over $26 billion annually
by 2028 to boost military readiness and response capabilities. Shifting
from a traditional emphasis on combat hardware and acknowledging the
critical role of training systems in the current global environment.
(3/4) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Russia Still Rivals US in Orbit,
General Says</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of US Space Command is cautioning against
complacency regarding Russia's space capabilities, emphasizing that
"Russia's struggles ... should not create a false sense of confidence
that Moscow is fading in the space domain." He highlighted that despite
facing significant challenges, Russia is poised to remain a formidable
and unpredictable adversary in the space arena for the coming decade.
(3/5) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">India Plans Lunar Sample Return,
Possibly Requiring Two Launches</span> (Source: India Today)<br>
India's plans to return samples from the moon may require two launches.
The proposed Chandrayaan-4 mission, Indian space officials said, will
involve one spacecraft launched on India's LVM3 rocket that will land
on the moon, collect samples and launch them into lunar orbit. A second
mission, launched on a PSLV rocket, will feature a spacecraft to pick
up the samples in lunar orbit and return them to Earth. The Indian
space agency ISRO has not disclosed a schedule for the mission,
including which of the two spacecraft would launch first. (3/6)<br>
</span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-60649034751045001872024-03-05T09:59:00.003-05:002024-03-05T15:49:22.222-05:00March 5, 2024<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Optimus Satellite Launch Marks a New
Era for Australia and Satellite Servicing</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Space Machines Company announced the successful launch of Optimus,
Australia's most significant private satellite to date, aboard a SpaceX
Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:05
AM AEDT, March 5th. This launch marks a critical step for Space
Machines Company, introducing Optimus as its inaugural Orbital
Servicing Vehicle (OSV) and laying the foundation for the firm's future
satellite servicing infrastructure. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia's First Orbital Launch
Facility License Awarded to Bowen Spaceport</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Australia is poised to make a giant leap in its space exploration and
commercialization efforts with the green light for its first orbital
launch site, the Bowen Orbital Spaceport, located in Queensland. This
historic milestone comes with the approval of the country's inaugural
orbital launch facility license under the Space (Launches and Returns)
Act 2018, setting the stage for domestic and commercial space
activities to soar to new heights.<br>
<br>
The spaceport, nestled within the Abbot Point State Development Area in
North Queensland, represents a significant development for the
Australian space sector. Built and operated by Gilmour Space
Technologies, an innovative Australian launch services provider, the
facility is geared up to offer a range of commercial orbital launch
services. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ispace Europe and CDS Partner to
Deploy Advanced Localization Tech on the Moon</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
ispace EUROPE S.A., a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of ispace, inc., has
entered into a strategic memorandum of understanding with Control Data
Systems SRL (CDS). This collaboration is aimed at developing
localization and telecommunications technology to for Lunar
applications in support of the quest for sustainable human presence and
infrastructure development on Earth's natural satellite. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Names Winners in Lunar Gateway
Packing and Storing Challenge</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
Humans living in space have confronted the challenge of maximizing the
physical space available to them. As NASA works to return astronauts to
the Moon with its Artemis campaign and chart a new era of deep space
exploration with Gateway, humanity's first space station in lunar
orbit, being organized and space-efficient is important. To help
address the issue, the Lunar Gateway Cargo Packing and Storing
Challenge invited the public to devise innovative stowage solutions for
NASA's Gateway Deep Space Logistics Module that could help shape the
future of space cargo delivery and deep space logistics.<br>
<br>
Ninety challenge participants from 35 countries submitted their
innovative and imaginative solutions, submitting 3D computer models of
a high-reliability storage module to provide astronauts on Gateway
quick access to cargo. The finalists shared a prize purse of $7,000.
The top winning entry ($3000) is QASIS-Quick Access Storage in
Space by Kriso Leinfellner (Austria). This design maximizes stowage
capacity, lightweight structures, and ease of use without the
complexities of motors, batteries, and electronics. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Uses ORNL Supercomputers to Plan
Smooth Landing on Mars</span> (Source: Space Daily)<br>
A U.S. mission to land astronauts on the surface of Mars will be unlike
any other extraterrestrial landing ever undertaken by NASA.<br>
Although the space agency has successfully landed nine robotic missions
on Mars since its first surface missions in 1976 with the Viking
Project, safely bringing humans to Mars will require new technologies
for flight through the Martian atmosphere. But these technologies and
systems can't be comprehensively tested on Earth beforehand.<br>
<br>
Since 2019, a team of NASA scientists and their partners have been
using NASA's FUN3D software on supercomputers located at the Department
of Energy's Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, or OLCF, to
conduct computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, simulations of a
human-scale Mars lander. The OLCF is a DOE Office of Science user
facility located at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sierra Lobo Lands NASA’s $282M
Contract to Support Glenn Research Center Flight Systems</span>
(Source: GovConWire)<br>
Sierra Lobo won the $282.1 million Space Flight Systems Development and
Operations Contract III to support NASA’s Glenn Research Center in
Cleveland. NASA said Thursday that the company will deliver services
ranging from space flight hardware design to software development and
technology testing and demonstration. The cost-plus-fixed-fee,
indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract has a base performance
period of three years and two option periods of two years. It also
includes a 90-day phase-in period beginning Feb. 27. (2/23)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">St. Pete's Lonestar Data Holdings Tech
Lands on Lunar Surface</span> (Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal)<br>
Lonestar Data Holdings CEO Chris Stott woke up on Feb. 23 feeling
elated. After months of planning, the St. Petersburg space startup's
tech had finally touched down on the moon onboard a Texas-based
Intuitive Machines lunar lander. It had planned to perform data
transmission tests on its moon-bound device for months, and it
validated its mission with the test's completion. With Lonestar tech
sitting on the lunar surface, the startup's fiction-like goal became a
reality, Stott said. (2/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">With India's Second Spaceport Launch,
More Private Players Will Make It A Satellite Launch Hub</span>
(Source: ABP)<br>
With the raising of India’s second spaceport in about two years, India
will join a select league of nations that have more than one such
satellite launch site. The foundation stone of this second spaceport,
situated in Tamil Nadu’s Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district,
was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28. The new
spaceport is a significant milestone for the Indian Space Research
Organzation (ISRO) and will greatly enhance India’s standing in the
comity of space-faring nations, not only propelling India as a
commercial space giant but also boosting India’s space prowess.<br>
<br>
With the commissioning of a second spaceport, ISRO will be able to
increase the frequency of launches in the 500 kms planar orbit. The
second space port aims to achieve a capability of launching 24
satellites annually. Identifying the key features of the second space
port, the ISRO said this will make the satellite launches cheaper, will
have low turnaround time, flexibility in accommodating multiple
satellites, launch-on-demand feasibility, and minimal launch
infrastructure requirements. The second space port also offers many
strategic advantages, including its proximity to the equator and the
nearby propulsion complex of ISRO that will greatly reduce the time and
expenses of rocket launches. (3/3)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Iridium to Acquire Satelles</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Iridium announced Monday it is acquiring Satelles, a company that
provides alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services
on its satellites. Iridium is spending about $115 million to buy the
80% of Satelles it does not already own in a deal they expect to
complete by April 1. Satelles has been broadcasting PNT signals since
2016 through a channel on Iridium's satellites in low Earth orbit
previously used for paging. These signals are far more powerful than
those from GPS and other navigation satellite systems in higher orbits,
allowing for greater use indoors while also being less susceptible to
jamming. The acquisition is the first in Iridium's 36-year history as
it works to achieve $1 billion in annual revenue by the end of the
decade. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">L3Harris Sensor Satellite Passes
Preliminary Review</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
An infrared sensor satellite that L3Harris designed for a future U.S.
military constellation passed a preliminary review. The sensor is being
designed for potential use in satellites the Space Force is planning
for medium Earth orbit. Space Systems Command has ordered six
satellites from Millennium Space Systems for an initial deployment
known as Epoch 1, but could by up to three more satellites for that
phase as well as 18 more satellites for Epoch 2. L3Harris would compete
with Millennium and Raytheon for those future satellites. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">BlackSky Wins $2 Million AFRL Contract
to Train AI</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
BlackSky has won a defense contract to provide satellite imagery to
train AI models. BlackSky said it won a $2 million contract from the
Air Force Research Lab through defense contractor Axient for the
images. Axient won a contract from AFRL in September 2023 worth up to
$25 million for space experiments. Axient will use BlackSky's satellite
imagery and data analytics platform to support studies and technology
demonstrations focused on tracking moving objects from space. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">China's CASC to Test Reusable Rockets</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
China's main state-owned space contractor is preparing to start testing
reusable rockets in competition with commercial efforts. China
Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) plans to launch
four- and five-meter-diameter reusable rockets for the first time in
2025 and 2026 respectively, an official said Monday. It's unclear what
rockets that official was referring to; CASC had been working on a
recoverable version of the Long March 8 but appears to have abandoned
those plans. Several Chinese startups are in various stages of
development of their own reusable rockets that could compete with
CASC's designs. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Plans Study Contracts for
Commercial Partnerships for Robotic Mars Exploration</span> (Source:
Space News)<br>
NASA expects to know by this summer what roles commercial partnerships
could play in its future robotic Mars exploration efforts. The agency
plans to award several study contracts in April to companies to study
proposals for the delivery of small and large payloads to Mars orbit,
as well as providing imagery and commercial services. The studies,
lasting about three months, will evaluate both the technical and
commercial viability of those concepts. NASA has proposed using
commercial partnerships as one part of a future Mars exploration
strategy unveiled last year. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dragon Arrives at ISS with Crew</span>
(Source: CBS)<br>
A Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station early
today with a new crew. The Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour docked with
the station at 2:28 a.m. Eastern, a half-hour ahead of schedule, with
hatches between the station and spacecraft opening less than two hours
later. The Dragon delivered the Crew-8 crew of three NASA astronauts
and one Roscosmos cosmonaut to the station, where they will stay for
six months. The Crew-7 crew will depart the station on another Crew
Dragon spacecraft early next week. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Transporter Mission Launches 53
Satellites From California</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
SpaceX launched its tenth Transporter rideshare mission Monday. A
Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at
5:05 p.m. Eastern and deployed 53 satellites over the next two and a
half hours. The Transporter-10 mission included a mix of returning
customers, such as Iceye, Satellogic and Spire, as well as companies
like Atomos Space, Quantum Space and True Anomaly that were launching
their first satellites. <br>
<br>
The Transporter missions remain popular because of their low prices,
although at a conference last week space situational awareness
companies say such missions pose challenges because of the large number
of satellites from different operators all launched at once. It can
take weeks to identify all of the satellites launched on each mission,
making it difficult for operators to identify their own satellites and
creating space safety hazards. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">SpaceX Launches Starlink Mission From
Florida - 3rd Launch in Less Than 24 Hours</span> (Source: SpaceFlight
Now)<br>
Less than two hours after Transporter-10, SpaceX launched another set
of Starlinks. A Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral at 6:56 p.m.
Eastern despite foggy conditions, placing 23 Starlink satellites into
orbit. Both the Transporter-10 and Starlink launches took place less
than 24 hours after the Crew-8 launch. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Texas Approves Controversial Land Swap
with SpaceX</span> (Source: Texas Tribune)<br>
Texas state officials are moving ahead with a land swap with SpaceX. At
a meeting Monday, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously
approved a proposal to give SpaceX 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park
near SpaceX's Starbase site in exchange for 477 acres near a wildlife
refuge to the north. Local officials who previously opposed the land
swap, causing the commission to delay consideration of the deal in
January, now say they back the proposal. Some residents and
environmental groups continue to protest the deal. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Juno Data Lowers Estimate of Europa
Oxygen </span>(Source: New York Times)<br>
A potentially habitable moon of Jupiter may have less oxygen than
previously thought. A paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy
on Monday used data from NASA's Juno spacecraft to estimate the amount
of oxygen on the surface of Europa, an icy moon with a subsurface
ocean. The spacecraft measured less oxygen than expected, although
researchers said the amount is "not totally prohibitive" for life
existing within that ocean. (3/5)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A North Korean Satellite Starts
Showing Signs of Life</span> (Source: Space Review)<br>
Many in the West had written off a North Korean reconnaissance
satellite launched last November as a failure. Marco Langbroek
describes how the satellite appears to be alive after recent maneuvers.
Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=35ae8078d4&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/4) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Squinting at the Universe</span>
(Source: Space Review)<br>
While current telescopes, on the ground and in space, are revealing new
insights about the universe, astronomers have plans for even more
ambitious observatories. Jeff Foust reports on the progress and
problems those efforts face. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=89dbf86e28&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/4) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Taking Stock of the US Space Program </span>(Source:
Space Review)<br>
The United States has by far the largest government space program, but
is not without its challenges. Namrata Goswami examines the current
states of government space policies and strategies, as well as problems
and missed opportunities. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=23eab9a110&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/4) <br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ode to Engle and Truly</span> (Source:
Space Review)<br>
Richard Truly, a former NASA astronaut and, later, administrator,
passed away last week. Emily Carney recalls his life from the
perspective of seeing his first shuttle launch. Click <a
href="https://thespacereview.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=91458affe0c184943282161c4&id=e0f4e603f0&e=92f7315935">here</a>.
(3/4) <br></span style>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36763086.post-67864306608944497222024-03-04T05:30:00.007-05:002024-03-04T11:14:34.780-05:00March 4, 2024<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delays Trigger Concerns About NASA's
Plan to Return Astronauts to the Moon Ahead of China</span> (Source:
CBS)<br>
Decades after the U.S. began and won a space race with the Soviet
Union, NASA is shooting for the moon once again – this time with China
as a competitor. NASA's Artemis mission plans to send people back to
the moon and establish an outpost at the moon's south pole. China's
rapidly growing space program also has its sights set on the moon, with
plans to send its taikonauts, or Chinese astronauts, there by the end
of the decade. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has publicly expressed
concern about China getting to the south pole first and staking a claim.<br>
<br>
NASA is taking a different approach from the Apollo missions this time
around. The agency is paying Elon Musk's SpaceX to take NASA's crews
from the Orion Spacecraft down to the moon. In 2021, NASA signed a
nearly $3 billion contract with SpaceX to use its new Starship mega
rocket and lunar lander for the first Artemis astronauts. NASA's
contract with SpaceX requires the company to make an unmanned lunar
landing with Starship before the mission with astronauts on
board. To ensure that the U.S. will plant its flag on the moon's south
pole first, NASA signed a new $3 billion contract last year with Blue
Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, to build
another lunar lander. <br>
<br>
George Scott, NASA's acting inspector general, is concerned about the
cost of Artemis. While NASA's engineers have their heads in the stars,
it's Scott's job to bring them back to Earth, particularly when it
comes to costs. "I think it is safe to say, without significant
reductions in cost, better cost controls, better planning, this Artemis
program on its current trajectory is not sustainable," Scott said. The
current cost estimate per launch in the Artemis mission is $4.2
billion. "That's an incredible amount of money per launch," he said. "A
lot of that hardware is just going to end up in the ocean, never to be
used again." (3/3)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Crew Launches to ISS From Cape
Canaveral Spaceport</span> (Source: Space News)<br>
A new crew is on its way to the International Space Station after a
launch Sunday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from the Kennedy Space
Center at 10:53 p.m. Eastern and placed the Crew Dragon spacecraft
Endeavour into orbit. That spacecraft, flying NASA's Crew-8 mission, is
carrying three NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut to the ISS
for a six-month stay, with docking scheduled for about 3 a.m. Eastern
Tuesday. The launch was scheduled for Saturday night but postponed by
weather. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">FY-24 Spending Bill Cuts NASA by 2%</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
A final fiscal year 2024 spending bill will cut funding for NASA. The
bill, released Sunday by House and Senate negotiators, would give the
agency $24.875 billion in 2024, 2% less than what it received in 2023
even before correcting for inflation. NASA had requested nearly $27.2
billion for 2024. The bill punts a decision on funding for Mars Sample
Return, instructing NASA to provide a report 60 days after the
completion of an architecture reassessment and allowing NASA to spend
between $300 million and $949.3 million on the program. The bill
adjusted spending on some other science, space technology and
exploration programs. Congress is expected to pass the bill by Friday,
when a stopgap funding bill expires. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">TSS Spacewalkers Repair Solar Panels</span>
(Source: Xinhua)<br>
Chinese astronauts performed a spacewalk outside the Tiangong space
station Saturday. Tang Hongbo and Jiang Xinlin spent about eight hours
outside the station, making repairs to solar panels that had been
degraded by impacts of small particles. They also performed an
inspection of the exterior of the station's modules. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Astra Founders Warn of Liquidation</span>
(Source: Space News)<br>
Astra's board warns that if a deal to take the company private falls
through, its only option is liquidation. The company, in an SEC filing
late Friday, said it was reviewing a revised proposal by company
founders Chris Kemp and Adam London, Astra's CEO and CTO respectively,
to take the company private at $0.50 a share, a price two-thirds lower
than their original offer in November. The board said that it has not
been able to identify any other financing options for the launch and
satellite propulsion company, and that if it cannot complete the deal
to go private, it will have to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and
liquidate. Astra did not disclose a timeframe for completing a deal or
going bankrupt. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA Ends AIM Earth Science Mission</span>
(Source: NASA)<br>
A NASA Earth science mission has ended after 16 years of operations.
NASA said Friday it was formally ending the Aeronomy of Ice in the
Mesosphere (AIM) mission, nearly a year after a battery failed on the
spacecraft. NASA said that multiple efforts to maintain power on AIM
without that battery were unsuccessful, keeping the spacecraft from
collecting data. AIM launched in 2007 to study noctilucent clouds in
the upper atmosphere to better understand how they formed and how they
are affected by other atmospheric phenomena. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NSF Must Pick Only One of Two
Ground-Based Telescopes</span> (Source: Science)<br>
The National Science Foundation (NSF) may only fund one new large
ground-based telescope rather than two. The National Science Board, at
a meeting last month, directed the NSF to move forward with support for
either the Giant Magellan Telescope or Thirty Meter Telescope.
Astronomers, through an initiative called the U.S. Extremely Large
Telescope Program, had hoped the NSF would provide funding for both
projects in exchange for a share of observing time. The board said the
high cost of the telescopes led them to direct the NSF to move forward
with one, with a cost cap of $1.6 billion. However, language in the
fiscal year 2024 spending bill "strongly encourages" the NSF to support
both telescopes. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Could Fiber Optic Cable Help
Scientists Probe the Deep Layers of the Moon?</span> (Source: Space
Daily)<br>
An increasing number of seismologists are using fiber optic cables to
detect seismic waves on Earth-but how would this technology fare on the
Moon, and what would it tell us about the deep layers of our nearest
neighbor in space? In Seismological Research Letters, Wenbo Wu of Woods
Hole Oceanographic Institute and colleagues explore the idea of
deploying a fiber seismic network on the Moon, discussing some of the
challenges to overcome.<br>
<br>
They also test this hypothetical network using artificial seismograms
created from data collected by seismometers placed on the Moon's
surface by the Apollo missions. Based on their results, Wu and
colleagues say a fiber seismic network could identify the kind of
seismic waves that would provide more information about the Moon's deep
core structure. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">If You Go to Mars, Jeffery Hoffman
Says, “Don’t Forget Your MOXIE!”</span> (Source: The Varsity)<br>
As Hoffman discussed, taking humans to Mars involves supporting
astronauts for seven to eight months aboard a suitable spacecraft. The
red planet’s air pressure is similar to Earth’s pressure — at 100,000
feet above sea level. Water does not exist as a liquid at this level,
and altogether, this makes Mars very difficult for humans to explore.
Rovers allow scientists to study places they cannot physically reach
yet.<br>
<br>
Hoffman is the deputy principal investigator of MOXIE, an experimental
rover instrument on Perseverance, the rover that was launched in 2020.
The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment can create up
to 10 grams of oxygen per hour using carbon dioxide in the Martian
atmosphere. It splits oxygen from the carbon dioxide using an
electrolyzer. MOXIE was created as a source of oxygen for future
explorers on Mars to breathe and burn as fuel. It’s a small-scale demo
version of a converter that will eventually support a small crew. (3/3)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy to Host Main Control Center for
EU Satellite Constellation</span> (Source: Reuters)<br>
A space center in the heart of Italy is set to host the main control
site for the low-orbit IRIS² (pronounced 'Iris squared') EU satellite
constellation, Italy's industry minister said on Monday. The Fucino
Space Center, close to the town of l'Aquila and one of the world's
largest space centers for civilian use, will be expanded to include
control operations for IRIS², Adolfo Urso said.<br>
<br>
The center already manages the European satellite positioning and
navigation system Galileo. IRIS² is designed to compete with Elon
Musk's Starlink and Jeff Bezos' Kuiper. It is an array of up to 170
satellites that will secure communications for European Union
governments and open new commercial broadband services to under-served
areas between 2025 and 2027. (3/4)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">New Funding to Put the UK at Heart of
Next Generation Telecommunications Services</span> (Source: Gov.UK)<br>
The UK Space Agency has announced a £10 million funding competition
that will help UK companies put their technologies at the forefront of
a new generation of global telecommunications services, products and
applications. The funding is part of the UK’s commitment to the
European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunication
Systems (ARTES) program. <br>
<br>
The £10 million investment is open to a diverse range of innovative
products or components, systems or services, and any aspect of the
space, ground or network segments. This could include breakthrough
technologies such as the development of lasers to communicate in space,
or for pioneering market opportunities, such as the use of space tech
to boost the efficiency of global shipping and trade. (2/26)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NASA's Ice-Hunting VIPER Moon Rover
Getting Ready to Slither to the Launch Pad</span> (Source: Space.com)<br>
NASA's next moon rover is one step closer to starting its lunar
mission. The rolling robot, known as VIPER ("Volatiles Investigating
Polar Exploration Rover"), is set to launch toward the moon later this
year. And it just notched a milestone along that path. "All of VIPER’s
flight instruments are installed, and the rover is more than 80%
built!" VIPER Project Manager Dan Andrews wrote.<br>
<br>
VIPER will spend 100 days roaming the lunar south pole region,
collecting data that will reveal where water ice is most likely to
dwell and determining how easy these resources will be to access. In
the process, VIPER will become the first-ever resource mapping mission
on another body in the solar system. These resource maps will be a
vital step in establishing a long-term human presence on the moon. (3/3)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Palantir and Voyager Partner on AI for
Starlab</span> (Source: Payload)<br>
Palantir, the AI data and analytics unicorn, is getting more deeply
involved in the space domain. The company announced yesterday that it
had entered a strategic collaboration with Voyager Space to explore
potential AI and ML demos in space, with an eye on Starlab development.
Under the newly signed MoU, Voyager and Palantir will look for ways to
incorporate advanced edge computing capabilities and AI/ML tech into
Starlab in its nascent stages. That could include expanding space
domain awareness and enabling allied nations doing business aboard the
station to process and distribute data securely. (2/6)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">ATMOS on Track to Fly its Space Cargo
Return Capsule Prototype Following Additional €1.3M in Funding</span>
(Source: ATMOS)<br>
ATMOS is on track to fly its space cargo return capsule prototype
following an additional €1.3M in funding. This additional funding
follows the oversubscribed €4 million seed funding round in June 2023
in preparation for assembling the prototype of its Phoenix return
capsule to fly into space and back. The new investment will broaden
ATMOS’ access to alternative launch providers, shortening the time to
market for its sustainable IOD (In-Orbit Demonstration) service. (2/8)<br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Umbra Releases Over $4 Million in Free
SAR Data</span> (Source: Umbra)<br />
Umbra, a vertically integrated space technology company, announced
today that it has made over $4 million of Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) data available to the public via its Open Data Program, which
launched on March 15, 2023. In less than a year, Umbra has already
shared over 3,000 images with the public, surpassing the combined open
data offerings of its two closest competitors by more than tenfold.
(3/1)<br /><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Last Thing The Space Force Must
Reckon With</span> (Source: Forbes)<br />
For the first time in military history, the need for this separate
service – the US Space Force – requires all of us involved to fully
appreciate the complete paradigm shift required to prepare for and lead
a military battle in this domain. The hallmarks of traditional military
power involve mass, maneuver, and kinetic destruction. <br />
<br />
For the Space Force, this must be replaced by a deep understanding of
what software-defined operations means. The key to space dominance lies
in mastering the space cyber domain, where layers of software on
commercial hardware serve as the primary offensive and defensive
weapons. The US Space Force is the first military branch in history
that is software defined. At its core, it is a software defined
service. (2/28)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Can Antarctica Serve as a Model for
International Cooperation on the Moon?</span> (Source: Space.com)<br />
Multiple nations are targeting the moon as an off-Earth destination for
long-term human presence. For NASA, getting a literal "leg-up" on the
moon once again via its Artemis program is highly touted as the way to
tromp and train for marching on to Mars. In many ways, such a future
undertaking can be compared to Antarctica, home for many far-flung
research stations. During summer months, roughly 5,000 people inhabit
research outposts, a number that drops to approximately 1,000 in the
winter.<br />
<br />
Antarctica is governed by about 30 countries, all of which are parties
of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty System. Can that bleak, standoffish polar
scenery serve as a template for working on the moon, or even offer
lessons on how best to cooperate in austere, remote environments? Click
<a href="https://www.space.com/moon-base-antarctica-international-cooperation">here</a>.
(3/3)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">HyImpulse SR75 Rocket On the Way to
Australia for Maiden Launch from the Koonibba Test Range</span>
(Source: Southern Launch)<br />
Leading German rocket manufacturer HyImpulse has packed up their SR75
rocket ready for its maiden launch in South Australia in late
April/early May 2024. Southern Launch is hosting HyImpulse at the
Koonibba Test Range for the maiden launch of their SR75 single-stage
rocket. The SR75 rocket uses HyImpulse’s unique propulsion technology
which combines paraffin wax (candle wax) and liquid oxygen to create a
hybrid rocket. (2/28) <br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Packing Starliner Cargo is a Balancing
Act</span> (Source: Boeing)<br />
The CST-100 Starliner’s Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International
Space Station will carry 759 pounds (344 kilograms) of cargo, including
452 pounds (205 kilograms) from Boeing and 307 pounds (139 kilograms)
from NASA. Boeing will have 25 bags and NASA will have 11 bags stored
in the cabin where NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita
“Suni” Williams will be seated. NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is backup
spacecraft test pilot if either Wilmore or Williams is not able to fly.
He also is pilot of the post-certification mission, Starliner-1, which
will follow CFT.<br />
<br />
Examples of Boeing cargo include vehicle supplies and tools, personal
hygiene items for the astronauts and emergency life support equipment.
NASA cargo includes food, clothing, exercise gear, medical supplies,
photo/media equipment and crew personal preference items. Also on board
will be creative space-themed masterpieces created by students from
around the world through a partnership between Boeing and the Space
Foundation. A thumb drive packed on board contains more than 3,400
different submissions from 66 countries, including 35 U.S. states.
(2/28)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">AAC Space Africa Wins SEK 2.3 M
Satellite Order</span> (Source; AAC Clyde Space)<br />
AAC Clyde Space's subsidiary AAC Space Africa has won its first
satellite order. AAC Space Africa will assemble, integrate and test two
satellites. The order valued at 4.1 million South African Rands
(approx. SEK 2.3 M) is scheduled for delivery in June 2024. "We are
delighted that AAC Space Africa has received its first satellite order,
a critical milestone in the growth of our company in Africa. We
look forward to seeing these satellites in space delivering their
mission" says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes. (2/28)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Bright Ascension and Third Planet
Orbital Announce Partnership</span> (Source: Bright Ascension)<br />
Bright Ascension announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
with Third Planet Orbital Ltd, a supplier of off-the-shelf functionally
standardized small satellite buses. The agreement commits both
companies to pool our expertise and resources in order to identify and
pursue promising opportunities within the fast-growing New Space
industry. Together with Third Planet Orbital, we will form the
foundations of a standardized integrated software and hardware
platform. (2/29)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">With Space Travel Comes Motion
Sickness. These Engineers Want to Help</span> (Source: CU Boulder)<br />
In a corner room of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building at CU
Boulder, Torin Clark is about to go for a ride. The associate professor
straps himself into what looks like an intimidating dentist’s chair
perched on metal scaffolding, which, in turn, rests on a circular base.
The whole set up resembles a carnival attraction. Which, in a way, it
is.<br />
<br />
The team from the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace
Engineering Sciences is using this machine as one step in an experiment
that seeks to recreate an experience that few people ever have: The
shock of going from one gravity environment, like space, to another,
like the surface of Earth. In particular, the group is tackling what
happens when astronauts return home, landing in their spacecrafts in
the middle of a choppy ocean. (2/29)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ovzon Receives New Order from Swedish
Space Corporation</span> (Source: Ovzon)<br />
Ovzon has received a new order for Ovzon’s SATCOM-as-a-Service from
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) for delivery during 2024. The total
order value amounts to 6 MSEK. Ovzon's SATCOM-as-a-Service is
recognized for its exceptional ability to support any critical mission
by integrating highest degree of mobility, performance, and resiliency.
This recent order emphasizes Ovzon and SSC´s joint commitment to
serving primarily Swedish government organizations and agencies, with
SSC remaining crucial in the effective deployment of this service.
(2/29)<br /></span>ellegoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17431980344222135111noreply@blogger.com0