October 9, 2017

DARPA Awards Aerojet Rocketdyne Contract to Develop Hypersonic Advanced Full Range Engine (Source: SpaceRef)
Aerojet Rocketdyne has entered into an agreement with DARPA to develop and ground test an innovative propulsion system under the agency’s Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) program.

The primary goal of the AFRE program is to develop and ground demonstrate a reusable hydrocarbon propulsion system that can seamlessly operate in a reliable and affordable manner over the full range of speeds between takeoff and hypersonic cruise to enable responsive hypersonic aircraft for a variety of military missions. (10/9)

Meet the X-Ray Visionary Looking for Signs of Life on Mars (Source: WIRED)
Abigail Allwood is a translator. But instead of reading ancient texts, she reads ancient rocks, and for the past decade, the Australian astrobiologist has been exploring the most remote wilderness on earth in search of microscopic fingerprints of life.

She uses a tool called the PIXL, which she invented as a postdoc: It fires a hair’s-width x-ray beam at a rock. That energy stirs up the atoms on the surface, which then shoot back their own distinct x-rays. Combined, those x-rays create finely detailed maps of the rock, potentially revealing the past presence of microbes. She previously used the method to study rocks in Australia’s Pilbara region. "I stood barefoot on a seashore that was formed 3.45 billion years ago,” she says. Click here. (10/9)

SpaceX Deploys Iridium Satellites, Lands First Stage, After California Launch (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, followed by touchdown of the booster’s first stage on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The 229-foot-tall rocket deployed the third batch of 10 next-generation Iridium voice and data relay satellites.

It was the 14th Falcon 9 flight of the year, and the 42nd launch of a Falcon 9 rocket overall since 2010. The landing on SpaceX’s drone ship — “Just Read the Instructions” — marked the 17th time SpaceX has recovered one of its first stage boosters intact. (10/9)

Industry and Government Differ on Future of FAA Commercial Space Office (Source: Space News)
While much of industry would like to see an office that licenses commercial spaceflight activities moved out of the FAA, a new GAO report finds little support for doing so within government. The Oct. 5 report found split opinions on whether the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, or AST, should be transferred to an independent office under the Secretary of Transportation, where it originally existed.

In recent years, some in the industry have argued for returning AST to its position outside of the FAA, arguing that the small office lacks influence on issues such as managing airspace for launches. FAA officials argued that moving AST out of the FAA “could make it more difficult for FAA offices to coordinate on commercial space activities." They also minimized concerns about airspace conflicts, noting advances in airspace management would minimize airspace closures for launches in the future.

Industry advocates for moving AST argued that moving the office outside FAA could allow it to develop regulations more efficiently, and also give it more resources. However, officials from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation cautioned that such a move would not guarantee AST additional resources for rulemaking and other activity, and would also require the office to pay for support services that the FAA provides today. (10/9)

Japan Seeks Major Efficiency and Cost Improvements for H3 Rocket (Source: Nikkei)
JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will start H3 rocket operations in FY-2020, and will increase the maximum number of annual launches from 6~7 in the current H2A rocket to “more than 10.” Government missions have been the main launches fro H2A, but in the H3, they intend to increase launches of commercial satellites.

They are confident that this will be possible by appealing H3’s low price and Japanese technical superiority. H2A has conducted 29 consecutive launch successes since 2003, and the overall success rate of 97% is higher than any other rocket in the world. Six H2A’s were launched in 2016. However, Japan's H3 is limited to the launch site in Tanegashima. To better compete against US and European rockets, JAXA and MHI will try to improve efficiencies of launcher preparation activities at Tanegashima. 

“[With H3] we want to achieve an interval of 30 days or less between two launches.” The H2A launch performed in March 2017 shortened the period to 52 days. They need to cut it in half for H3. H3 development was started 4 years ago. H2A was developed almost 20 years ago. Where H3 goes may be showing us the future of Japan’s space industry. (10/7)

Aphelion Orbitals Launches Cubesat Store, Updates Low-Cost Launcher Development Progress (Source: Cision)
Aphelion Orbitals announces significant progress toward the company's goal of becoming the premier supplier of reliable, low-cost small satellite hardware and launch services. Aphelion currently has a selection of cubesat structural chassis and solar cells as the initial offerings in our Cassiopeia product line. Also available is the Lite version of Aphelion's flagship Cubesat operating system, based on NASA's proven Core Flight Executive framework.

Aphelion continues to make progress with launch system development. We have added industry veterans to Aphelion's propulsion team and recently refined the design for Trailblazer, our suborbital rocket, to use low-cost hydrogen peroxide and RP-1 propellants. These room-temperature, storable fuels promise to greatly streamline operations, increase reliability, reduce cost and enable Trailblazer to launch from practically any launch site in the world.

Targeting its inaugural test flight in the first half of 2018, Trailblazer will be capable of sending a 20 kg payload to over 100 miles above sea level. Trailblazer will also serve as the foundation for the second stage of Aphelion's cubesat launch vehicle. Powered by a liquid methane, liquid oxygen first stage, Feynman will enter service by 2021 and offer regularly scheduled, airline-style flight booking with a one-month lead time. (10/6)

Hypersonic Missiles Being Developed by US, Russia and China Could Spark War (Source: The Independent)
World powers developing hypersonic missiles must ensure they do not fall into the hands of rogue regimes which could use them to threaten the globe, researchers have warned. The fast-moving weapons are “a new class of threat” because they are being designed to evade missile defence systems, and would give nations less time to respond to attacks, a study by the RAND Corporation think tank has claimed.

If the technology were to spread uncontrolled, countries might set their defences on a “hair trigger” and increase the chances of missile-based strategic war breaking out, the authors said. “Hypersonic missile proliferation would increase the chances of strategic war. It would give nations an incentive to become trigger-happy.” (10/7)

Cornwall Spaceport Team Jets to Los Angeles for Crunch Talks (Source: Cornwall Live)
A delegation has flown to Los Angeles on a £30,000 taxpayer-funded trip in an attempt to woo support to build Europe’s first spaceport in Cornwall.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is leading Cornwall’s bid to establish Spaceport Cornwall across two sites at Cornwall Airport Newquay and Goonhilly Earth Station. A six-strong team representing the Cornwall bid arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday ahead of a series of meetings with potential investors. Newquay is among five UK sites vying to become the first spaceport in Europe as the Government aims to meet the growing interest in space tourism.

Editor's Note: Good luck convincing investors that suborbital space tourism remains a hot item. Until Virgin Galactic and/or Blue Origin begin revenue flights, I doubt anyone will get a handle on the market demand. Then there's the question of whether any other companies can enter a market dominated by these two US based competitors. (10/9)

Republicans are for the Moon? Democrats are for Mars? A Look at the Artificial Divide (Source: Astralytical)
In an age of hyper-partisanship in U.S. politics, it is tempting to categorize every federal government initiative as promoted by one of the two major political parties. NASA has long benefited from being generally nonpartisan, mostly supported and sometimes criticized by members of both parties.

An area of frustration has been the lack of stability in NASA human space exploration direction and budget, especially the decision to send astronauts beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), that is, to a celestial destination beyond an orbiting space station. Presidential administrations sometimes shift direction by creating a new NASA human spaceflight policy, and Congress shapes the policy’s actual form with budget allocation and approval.

It can be tempting to oversimplify the politics of NASA human spaceflight destinations beyond LEO. Some look at the surface level of recent history and conclude Republicans prefer returning NASA astronauts to the Moon and Democrats prefer sending NASA astronauts to Mars. This oversimplification goes nowhere in reality. Click here. (10/9)

Energy Awareness Month to Focus on Solar Power (Source: NASA)
At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, experts continue to find ways to be more energy efficient and encourage the center's employees to do the same. To highlight these efforts, KSC's Spaceport Integration and Services has set October as Energy Awareness Month.

"We want to not only focus on what we're doing here at Kennedy, but help employees know what they can do on an individual basis," said Nick Murdock, Energy and Water manager at KSC. It's more than simply remembering to turn out the lights when you go home at the end of the day. According to Murdock, Energy Awareness Month will include messages for general energy awareness, speakers and presentations on being more energy aware. (10/2)

NASA Has Big Plans for the Moon, and It's Not the Only One (Source: NBC)
In Jim Bridenstine’s vision, the moon will soon host a bustling development of mining operations, robot geologists, video broadcasters, and a small but growing human outpost — all supported by a mix of commercial and government interests. That’s a bold claim, considering there has been only one soft landing on the moon in the last four decades. But Bridenstine is hardly alone in his starry optimism. Click here. (10/9)