October 30, 2017

What Intelsat Expects To Gain from its $25 Million OneWeb Investment (Source: Space News)
Satellite fleet operator Intelsat on July 30 said its investment in start-up OneWeb’s low-orbiting constellation of 700 Internet-delivery and cellular-backhaul satellites came in return for exclusive rights to a wide swath of OneWeb’s future markets.

In a presentation to investors, Intelsat said its partnership with OneWeb will extend Intelsat’s reach to the polar regions — not normally a driving ambition for satellite fleet operators — as well as opening a host of new collaborative possibilities “through the combined scale and interoperability of the two networks.” (7/31)

California, Texas and Florida Lead U.S. Commercial Drone Approvals (Source: Aviation Week)
California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Arizona lead U.S. states in FAA-approved drone use applications, according to a report by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International. Real estate is the leading commercial drone application in the U.S. currently, accounting for 31% of approvals. (7/31)

NASA Flights Promise Quieter Landings (Source: Aviation Week)
As turbofans become quieter, landing gear, high-lift systems and other airframe features are emerging as the dominant contributors to aircraft noise on the approach to airports.  NASA is flight-testing landing-gear treatments and trailing-edge flap designs that promise significant reductions in airframe noise. The tests involve back-to-back acoustic measurements with modified and unmodified Gulf-stream III testbeds. (7/30)

Next-Gen Weather Satellite JPSS 1 Readies for Launch From California (Source: Via Satellite)
Ball Aerospace and the Joint Polar Satellite System 1 (JPSS 1) team is currently preparing NOAA's next-generation polar orbiting weather satellite for launch on Nov. 10. In preparation for launch, the JPSS 1 team has fueled the satellite with hydrazine, pressurized the propulsion system to flight pressure, completed a final thermal blanket closeout and cleaned the spacecraft. The JPSS 1 spacecraft has now been transported to Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC 2) and successfully mated to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 2 Launch Vehicle where the launch provider will install the vehicle fairing. (10/27)

US Space Policy, Organizational Incentives, and Orbital Debris Removal (Source: Space Review)
United States policy regarding orbital debris has evolved over time, but one issue it has yet to fully deal with is the removal of debris, versus simply limiting its creation. Brian Weeden examines national policy regarding debris and the challenges faced by government and private efforts to remove it from orbit. Click here. (10/30) 
 
Marking the 50th Anniversary of the First Saturn V Launch (Source: Space Review)
To mark the approaching 50th anniversary of the first launch of the Saturn V rocket, a reprint of part of a chapter of a seminal book on the Apollo program by Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox about the preparations for that historic flight. Click here. (10/30)
 
More Problems for Big Space Telescopes (Source: Space Review)
After years of staying on schedule for a 2018 launch, NASA has delayed the James Webb Space Telescope to the spring of 2019. Jeff Foust reports on the issues that led to this delay, as well as challenges facing the next big space telescope after JWST. Click here. (10/30)
 
The Trillion-Dollar (Solar) Storm (Source: Space Review)
The threat of massive disruptions to our technology-dependent way of life caused by solar storms is something that has become increasingly clear in recent years. Robert Coker describes how the US government has, so far, done a good job dealing with this complex problem, but with far more to do to be ready to handle a trillion-dollar storm. Click here. (10/30)

SpaceX Ties ULA’s Annual Launch Record with 16th Launch This Year (Source: Space News)
SpaceX’s Oct. 30 launch of the Koreasat-5A telecommunications satellite doubled the number of Falcon 9 missions completed in a single year and ties the company with ULA’s record of 16 launches in one year. ULA’s most active year — 2009 — included five Atlas 5s, eight Delta 2s and three Delta 4s (including one Delta 4 Heavy).

The successful Koreasat mission took off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, deploying the satellite 36 minutes after liftoff. The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster overcame choppier waters from Tropical Storm Philippe to land on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” nine minutes later in the Atlantic Ocean. (10/30)

Europa's First Geologic Map Will Help NASA Explore Jupiter's Moon for Aliens (Source: Business Insider)
NASA is gearing up to spend billions answering one of the most significant questions humans have ever posed: Are we alone? The space agency's prime target for seeking evidence of alien life is Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter that's nearly the size of our own moon yet hides an ocean with more liquid water than exists on Earth.

But before NASA can send its first Europa-dedicated mission — the Europa Clipper, a solar-powered robot that will repeatedly strafe the moon with cameras and sensitive scientific instruments — the space agency needs a map of the mysterious world to make the most of its $2-to-$4 billion effort.

Now such a map exists, thanks to the determination of two research groups spanning more than a decade. "There was never a completed global map prior to ours," said D. Alex Patthoff, a geologist and planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (10/29)

How Close are High-Altitude Platforms to Competing with Satellites? (Source: Space News)
Balloons, airships, unmanned planes and other so-called pseudo satellites loitering in the stratosphere are likely to enrich the global communications and Earth-observation ecosystem in the not-so-distant future.

Google, an especially deep-pocketed proponent of these satellite alternatives,  demonstrated again this week that at least some high-altitude pseudo satellites have passed the purely research and development stage, when it dispatched its helium-filled balloons, developed as part of the Google Loon Project, to provide basic internet and text messaging services to a Puerto Rico still reeling from Hurricane Maria more than month ago.

Facebook, another believer in internet through high-altitude platforms, sometimes called pseudo-satellites, successfully test-flew its Aquila drone earlier this year. At this year’s World Space Risk Forum in London, Antonio Abad, chief technology officer of Hispasat, said the Spanish telecom satellite operator is in fact looking into high-altitude platform technology and sees more potential in it than in small-satellite LEO constellations. (10/29)

Ageing Satellites Put Crucial Sea-Ice Climate Record at Risk​ (Source: Nature)
One of the most important continuous records of climate change — nearly four decades of satellite measurements of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice — might soon be interrupted.

Scientists all over the world rely on the sea-ice record compiled by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. But the US military satellites that collect the data, by measuring ice extent using microwave sensors, are approaching the end of their lives. Three are still working but ageing, and their intended successor started experiencing glitches in 2016, before conking out for good this month. The next possible replacement won't launch until at least the early 2020s. (10/27)

Inside 'Satan's' Lair: The Lock-Tight Ukrainian Rocket Plant At Center Of Tech-Leak Scandal (Source: Radio Liberty)
Some of Ukraine's most highly classified military secrets lie within the 4-meter-high, razor-wire topped walls that ring an otherwise nondescript compound on the edge of this gritty industrial city. Little gets in or out of one of the world's most storied and notorious rocket-design-and-manufacturing complexes.

Access to the rare visitor to, not to mention employees of, the Yuzhnoye design bureau and Yuzhmash machine-building plant within is granted only after extensive security checks by at least two state security agencies. Even then, entrance is ultimately left to the discretion of the armed soldiers who guard the facilities' gray metal gates.

It's the type of obsessive security that raises questions about how this, of all places, has been alleged to be the source of missile-engine-technology leaks to one of the world's most notorious regimes. Yet, as people around the globe watched in horrified fascination as North Korea conducted recent missile tests that raised the specter of nuclear war, this complex located 450 kilometers southeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, found itself at the center of a major geopolitical scandal. Click here. (10/28)

Northrop's Revenue Beats, Raises 2017 Profit Forecast Again (Source: CNBC)
Northrop Grumman beat Wall Street estimates for revenue in the third quarter and raised its 2017 profit forecast for the third time as aircraft sales rose. Shares of the company rose 2.1 percent at $300.11 in premarket trading on Wednesday.

The weapons maker raised its full-year profit forecast range to $12.90-$13.10 per share from $12.10-$12.40 per share and said it expected revenue of about $25.50 billion, up from low-$25 billion range it estimated earlier. Sales at Northrop's aerospace unit, which makes manned aircraft, jumped 10.8 percent to $3.08 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. (10/25)

Concentration of CO2 in Earth's Atmosphere Hits 800,000-Year High (Source: Daily Beast)
The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere in 2016 was higher than at any point in more than 800,000 years, thanks to humans and a recent strong El Nino event, the World Meteorological Organization said. In a statement Monday, the organization warned of “severe ecological and economic disruptions” based on the concentrations of the greenhouse gas, which is now at an average of 403.3 parts per million. “Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse-gas emissions, we will be heading for dangerous temperature increases by the end of this century,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said. (10/30)

Inmarsat Picks Ariane-5 for Global Xpress Launch (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat has selected Arianespace to launch its fifth Global Xpress satellite. The company said Friday that it will launch the Thales Alenia-built satellite on an Ariane 5 in the second half of 2019. The company used Proton rockets to launch the original three satellites in the system, with a fourth launching earlier this year on a Falcon 9. (10/29)

Lockheed Martin on a Central Florida Hiring Spree (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Lockheed Martin has hundreds of job openings in Central Florida, thanks to the company's big military contract wins between July and October. There are 903 job postings for Orlando, Cape Canaveral, and Titusville. The recent contract wils have a total value of $12.3 billion. (10/27)

Port Canaveral Envisions Spaceport Operations Boost (Sources: Orlando Business Journal, SPACErePORT)
Port Canaveral is already known as Florida's second busiest place for cruise ships, but it is looking to become a key spot for rockets too. The Canaveral Port Authority is planning to capitalize on growing activity by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The Authority is setting aside area for rocket recovery, refurbishment, and component receiving. This envisions two SpaceX refurbishment facilities, two wharves/docks for rocket landing barges. SpaceX and Blue Origin could use these for their vertical-landing rocket stages and components, and ULA may also require the capability for their Vulcan rocket's reusable components. (10/27)

How Space History is Fueling NASA's First Steps to Mars (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Renovations to KSC's Launch Complex 39B are nearly complete as NASA's new Space Launch System counts down to its first launch in 2019. The installation of 10 levels of retractable work platforms insidde the VAB was completed earlier this year, giving engineers 360-degree access to the rocket. A mobile launch platform will be transported to the pad by a modified version of the crawler-transporter which hauled the Saturn V rockets and Space Shuttles from the VAB. (10/27)

A Swimming Pool For Spacefarers (Source: Air & Space Magazine)
After a vacation in the south of France, John Vickers had an idea: He could quit his career as a technology consultant and build a pool. “When I presented it to my wife, she said, ‘A pool?’ and I said, ‘Well, a fairly big pool.’ ” Click here. (10/30) 

Scientist Devises a Solar Reactor to Make Water and Oxygen from Moon Rocks (Source: Space Daily)
Working over a ten year period at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (CIEMAT) Denk has designed and built a device to make enough oxygen and water for 6 to 8 astronauts, powered by a thermal solar reactor. In 2017 it completed a six-month test run. The idea is not new; just the implementation.

"From the beginning people were thinking this probably has to be done with a solar furnace, because on the Moon there is not very much to heat a system that you can use; photovoltaics with electricity or a nuclear reactor or concentrated solar radiation," said Denk, who has experience in concentrating solar and in particles engineering. Click here. (10/30)