November 3, 2017

Alaska Aerospace Launches Aurora Launch Services Company (Source: Space Daily)
The Alaska Aerospace Board of Directors has approved establishing Aurora Launch Services, LLC. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Aerospace, Aurora Launch Services seeks to provide niche contract launch services to spaceports worldwide. As the emerging small launch vehicle market grows, Aurora Launch Services will be a major part of Alaska Aerospace's efforts at creating an Alaska based sustainable aerospace business that serves a global launch market.

"Aurora Launch Services will become an integral part of further decreasing the cost of launch, while providing Alaska Aerospace with a diversified source for revenues not generated solely from our Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska" he continued. "The Board is excited about continued growth for Alaska Aerospace and the innovative ways that the company is adapting to the changing space launch business" he concluded.

Alaska Aerospace Corporation is a state-owned corporation established to develop a high-technology aerospace industry in Alaska. Alaska Aerospace operates the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska (PSCA) located on Kodiak Island offering all indoor, all weather, processing and providing optimal support for both orbital and sub-orbital space launches. Its corporate headquarters is in Anchorage, Alaska with a regional office in Huntsville, Alabama. (11/3)

NASA Extends Lunar CATALYST Agreements with Astrobotic, Masten & Moon Express (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA will continue its partnerships with three U.S. companies that are advancing technologies to deliver cargo payloads to the lunar surface. The partners —- Astrobotic Technology, Inc., of Pittsburgh, Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California, and Moon Express of Cape Canaveral, Florida -— began work in 2014 under NASA’s Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) initiative. The original three-year agreements were amended to extend the work for another two years. (11/2)

Modern Warfare Will Involve Outer Space. We Need Satellites That Can Fight Back (Source: Weekly Standard)
Both Russia and China are developing and actively testing anti-satellite (ASAT) systems. Up until now, the systems they have been testing have been ground-launched, designed to orbit a few times and then collide with and destroy targets at altitudes under 1,000 kilometers. This capability is sufficient to take out U.S. reconnaissance satellites, but not the GPS and communications satellites that fly higher, at 20,000 kilometers and 36,000 kilometers respectively.

It is a fairly straightforward matter for Russia and China to extend their current ASAT capabilities to threaten even those more distant satellites, presumably the R&D is already well under way. A fighter plane has two critical functions—it destroys enemy aircraft and protects our own. An ASAT, as generally conceived today, only performs the former function. As such, it resembles an anti-aircraft missile. But the decisive weapon for achieving air supremacy has always been the fighter aircraft. Only fighters can protect bombers (and other assets) from enemy fighters while also denying the enemy the use of the air.

We now need to replicate both parts of this dynamic at a higher altitude, in space. First, the offense side: A hypothetical fighter sat would provide the United States with the crucial ability to neutralize an adversary’s reconnaissance satellites; without that ability, the entire U.S. Navy surface fleet will be visible, and therefore vulnerable to attack by enemy missiles, submarines, and other means. (11/3)

Orbcomm: Satellite Problems Not System-Wide (Source: Space News)
Orbcomm says a problem that disabled three of its next-generation satellites does not appear to be a systemic flaw. Company CEO Marc Eisenberg said Thursday that engineers narrowed the problem with the three satellites to two most likely causes, and have changed procedures and taken other steps to prevent the problem from happening on other satellites. Orbcomm has 12 functioning OG2 satellites, which Eisenberg said provides sufficient service. The company said it's focusing its current efforts on a partnership with Inmarsat to provide additional service rather than building gapfiller satellites. (11/3)

China's Largest Rocket Could Fly Again by Mid 2018 (Source: GB Times)
China's Long March 5 rocket could return to flight as soon as the second quarter of next year. The rocket, the largest in operation in China today, has been grounded since a July launch failure blamed on a problem with a first stage engine. Yang Baohua, vice president of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said the Long March 5 would launch a large communications satellite in 2018. A successful launch of that mission could allow the Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission to fly in late 2018, rather than 2019 as had been speculated after the failure. (11/3)

Russia Orders Military Commsats (Source: Tass)
A Russian manufacturer has received an order for four military communications satellites. The ISS Reshetnev company said the Russian government has approved an order for four Meridian-M satellites to be completed between late 2018 and 2022. The Meridian-M is an upgraded version of the Meridian satellites that replaced the Molniya series of satellites operating in highly elliptical orbits. (11/3)

SpaceX Rocket Part Washes Up on North Carolina Beach (Source: Virginian-Pilot)
A piece of debris that washed up on a North Carolina beach last month came from a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch. The object, several meters long, appeared to be a from a rocket payload fairing. SpaceX later confirmed that the debris came from one of their launches, but declined to disclose which one. One of the people who found the debris believes it came from a March launch that was the first Falcon 9 flight to use a previously flown first stage, but didn't explain how she reached that conclusion. (11/3)

ISS Getting New HP Printers (Source: Mashable)
The International Space Station will be getting new printers next year. Astronauts on the station had been using versions of an Epson inkjet printer that was about 20 years old. NASA worked with HP to modify the company's Envy 5600, removing unneeded functions and making changes to allow the printer to work in weightlessness. The two HP Envy Zero Gravity printers will be shipped to the station on a SpaceX cargo mission in early 2018. (11/2)

NASA Selects New Technologies (One From UF) to Flight Test on Parabolic Aircraft, Balloons and Suborbital Rockets (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected nine space technologies to test on low-gravity-simulating aircraft, high-altitude balloons or suborbital rockets. The opportunity to fly on these vehicles helps advance technologies closer to practical use by taking them from a laboratory environment to a real-world environment. The selections were made by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, which conducts a competition approximately twice per year for funding to fly payloads using flight providers selected by the proposers. These space technologies are being tested using relatively low-cost flights that simulate spaceflight or just reach the "edge" of space.

Among the selected projects is one from the University of Florida: Demonstration of Optimal Chilldown Methods for Cryogenic Propellant Tanks in Reduced Gravity, Jacob Chung, principal investigator, University of Florida, Gainesville. Tank chilldown is a necessary step when performing tank-to-tank cryogenic propellant transfer, needed for fuel depots or deep-space human missions. This payload has the potential of reducing the amount of fuel used for chilling the tanks. Click here. (11/2)

NASA Building Most Advanced Machine Ever to Find Life on Enceladus (Source: Newsweek)
As scientists have learned more about our solar system, they've realized our best bet for finding life in the neighborhood is buried in ice-covered oceans. But those ice shells make them difficult to study, which is why NASA is investing in state-of-the-art technology to understand what's happening beneath the surface of these potentially habitable places, like Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons.

NASA is developing some of its most advanced technology to date in hopes of cracking this moon's secrets. That includes a newly announced machine called Submillimeter Enceladus Life Fundamentals Instrument, or SELFI. There's just one little problem: Right now, SELFI doesn't have any missions to Enceladus to hitch a ride on—NASA is evaluating two proposed orbital missions to the icy moon, but has yet to commit to anything. (11/2)

Next Mars Rover Will Have 23 Cameras (Source: Absolute Knowledge)
When NASA’s ‘first rover outside of Earth-Moon system’ Mars Pathfinder arrived on Mars in 1997, it had only five cameras onboard. It’s obvious, until now camera technologies have taken huge steps foward worldwide and, of course, NASA is going to advance.

The 2020 Mars mission will have more “eyes” than any other rover built until now. What are they for? Well, creating sweeping panoramas, studying the atmosphere, assisting science instruments and revealing new obstacles will be just a few new characteristics for the new rover. For the first time, there will be a camera inside the rover’s body, which will study samples as they are stored and left on the surface for collection by a future mission. (10/31)

The Deep Space Gateway as a Cislunar Port (Source: Space News)
When Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the lunar surface for the last time in 1972, many viewed the moon as a dry and barren world, with little to offer beyond flags and footprints for superpowers — a prize that had been clearly won by the United States. Fast-forward almost a half-century later, and a lot has changed.

Our scientific and strategic understanding of the moon and its resource potential has expanded dramatically. Recent robotic missions to the moon have discovered vast water ice resources at the lunar poles. Persistent peaks of light at the lunar poles have been found to offer near-continuous solar illumination for surface operations. City-sized underground lunar lava tubes have been discovered. Advances in in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology have brought the dream of harvesting fuel from the moon within our grasp.

Meanwhile, large-scale exploration vehicles in the form of NASA’s Orion and Space Launch System are imminently coming online, just as international interest in the moon is peaking. Space agencies the world over have announced plans for near-term Moon missions. New agencies like Agencia Espacial Mexicana, and even private companies like DHL, can now reach the moon by partnering with commercial lunar providers like Astrobotic. (10/31)

Despite $10 Billion Constellation Rocket Program Failure, Griffin May Lead US Defense Procurement (Source: Next Big Future)
Michael Griffin led the NASA Constellation rocket program which spent over $10 billion (2004-2010) before it was cancelled. It does not sound like Mike Griffin has learned any lessons about having more efficient development. He mainly argues for turning open the procurement taps wide and leaving them open. For those support pacificism, Mike Griffin will continue the US overpayment for military and space systems. So the US will continue to get less bang for the bucks. Click here. (11/1)

This is the Absolute Grossest Thing About Living in Space (Source: Popular Science)
When running, I thought that the sweat would form droplets on my skin and remain in place, without having the effect of gravity to pull the droplets downwards. This was indeed the case for my arms and legs. However, what was really interesting was observing the sweat on my face and head. The motion of running caused the droplets to coalesce into a much larger bubble of sweat that migrated to the top of my head. Every 20 minutes or so I would feel this bubble wobbling around in my hair and have to towel my head dry. Click here. (11/1)

Branson Wants to Launch Satellites into Space for the Government (Source: LA Business Journal)
Taking on the likes of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Richard Branson has formed another aerospace company. Vox Space is a subsidiary of Virgin Orbit that will carry small satellites to low earth orbit for the United States government and its allies.

“Vox Space can provide study, analysis, integration and launch services using Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne, while ensuring our customer’s critical information is protected,” the company says on its website. The bulk of the companies’ combined small-satellite deliveries are likely to be for commercial customers, TechCrunch reported, with Vox doing about 10 percent of the business for government clients. (11/1)

The New Space Race (Source: BBC)
Until recently the commercial development of space was largely limited to big telecommunications satellites. Costing several hundred million dollars each and weighing several tonnes, these satellites are designed to last up to 15 years so investors can recoup the expense of building them in the first place.

But a revolution has been taking place. Technological advances are overturning traditional models for operating in space. A host of firms are promising cheaper access to space, with innovations such as renewable rockets and horizontal launch systems. Click here. (11/1)

Texas Science Committee Chair Leaving Congress (Source: Texas Tribune)
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-TX, is retiring from Congress, two sources close to the congressman told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. "For several reasons, this seems like a good time to pass on the privilege of representing the 21st District to someone else," he wrote. Smith was elected to Congress in 1987 and represents a district that spans Austin, San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country. He is the current chairman of the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee. (11/2)

Mars City Living: Designing for the Red Planet (Source: MIT Technology Review)
How will people live on Mars? An MIT team developed a design concept addressing this question as part of Mars City Design 2017, an international competition focused on sustainable cities on Mars to be built in the next century. MIT’s winning urban design, titled Redwood Forest, creates domes or tree habitats that can each house up to 50 people.

The domes provide open, public spaces containing plants and abundant water, which would be harvested from the northern plains of Mars. The tree habitats sit atop a network of underground tunnels, or roots, providing access to private spaces and easy, shirt-sleeve transportation to the other tree habitants in the community of 10,000. In addition to connectivity, the roots offer residents protection from cosmic radiation, micrometeorite impacts, and extreme thermal variations. Click here. (10/31)

Cosmic Rays Hint at Mystery Void in Great Pyramid of Giza (Source: Science)
High-energy particles from outer space have helped uncover an enigmatic void deep inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Using high-tech devices typically reserved for particle physics experiments, researchers peered through the thick stone of the largest pyramid in Egypt for traces of cosmic rays and spotted a previously unknown empty space. The mysterious cavity is the first major structure discovered inside the roughly 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid since the 19th century, researchers report online November 2 in Nature.

The open space may comprise one or more rooms or corridors, but the particle-detector images reveal only the rough size of the void, not the details of its design. Eventually, though, this detail of the Great Pyramid’s architecture could offer new insights into one of the world’s largest, oldest and most famous monuments. The only one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World that’s still standing, the Great Pyramid was built as a burial tomb for Pharaoh Khufu. (11/2)