November 6, 2017

Beyond Bitcoin: Leveraging the Blockchain for Space 4.0 (Source: ESA)
ESA’s Strategy Department is investigating the role blockchain technologies could play in adapting the Agency for Space 4.0. Blockchain promises to become a new foundation for all forms of transactions. A blockchain is a digital database that disintermediates and records transactions between parties. To achieve this, it cryptographically secures its records and relies on a distributed network to replicate its data across many locations.

These features allow the block chain to operate as a self-sufficient network without a central authority or oversight. Blockchain transactions can take over services such as varied as payments, notary functions, supply chain management, identity and digital rights management.

Recently, ESA’s Corporate Development Office and the Chief Digital Officer have  been investigating the applicability of Blockchain technologies to key challenges for ESA’s space activities and administrative areas. The project aimed at establishing what drives the value of Blockchain technology, how the technology itself works, what it can be used for, and how ESA might apply it. In doing so, a range of potential applications have been identified, from satellite communications to procurement. (11/6)

Scientists Building a Huge New Telescope Have Reached a Critical Phase (Source: Mashable)
Huge telescopes dot mountainsides around the world. From Hawaii to Chile, scientists seek out the perfect site with fair weather and dark, clear skies to peer deeply into space, clocking the movements of distant stars, planets, and other objects far beyond what we can see with the naked eye. A new observatory called the Giant Magellan Telescope, currently being built in Chile, should eventually be able to see far-off alien worlds and even take a look at their atmospheres.

But right now, the project is in a critical phase. Scientists are in the process of casting the seven huge mirrors that will be used to allow the telescope to do its astronomical work. The team is now casting the fifth mirror, a process that requires melting tons of glass in a furnace that spins five times per minute, according to the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO).

After cooling, the mirror will be polished down into an exact shape that will hopefully help make the telescope take even sharper images than large space-based observatories like the Hubble Telescope. Crafting these mirrors isn't easy, though the reasons why are a bit technical. Click here. (11/5)

Jeff Bezos’s Guide to Life (Source: TechCrunch)
Here are Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s tips about inspiration, work-life balance, and how to be an inventor. Oh, and how it felt getting doused with champagne at his rocket landing. The world’s richest person displayed an unprecedented level of candor during an interview at in Los Angeles this weekend at invite-only getaway Summit Series, a favorite amongst tech founders which we recently profiled. Click here. (11/5)

Trump Administration Wants to Put Americans Back on the Moon (Source: Public Radio International)
The newly revived National Space Council calls for a return to the moon and the development of a base there. “I definitely think this is much more of a political shift in terms of the priorities of this administration, and you can read into it what you will. I think one major reason for the shift is you have the executive director of the National Space Council, which is Scott Pace, and he's made it very clear that he thinks NASA is a great tool for international cooperation. And right now in the international community, the moon is hot — a lot of state agencies want to go there.” (11/5)

Israel Aerospace Industries Sells New Observation Satellite ‘Eros C’ to Private Equity Fund (Source: Jewish Press)
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on Monday announced it had entered into an agreement with FIMI, the largest Private Equity fund in Israel, whereby FIMI will invest $40 million in ImageSat International (ISI)—which provides high resolution satellite earth imagery to facilitate viable data analysis and actionable insights, in exchange for 53.6% of ISI’s share equity.

The agreement stipulates that ISI will buy IAI’s new observation satellite Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS), a series of Israeli commercial Earth observation satellites, designed and manufactured by IAI. At the transaction closing date, ISI will pay IAI $35 million to cover part of the outstanding shareholder’s loan. (11/6)

Skyrora Looks to Launch Small Satellites From Scotland (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Skyrora, a privately-funded launch vehicle developer with a research and development hub in Ukraine, unveiled its plans for entering the small satellite launch market during the Reinventing Space conference taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, this week.

Edinburgh-based Skyrora, which is currently developing an orbital launch vehicle and has recently started a series of engine test firings, has plans to launch from the UK and follow in the footsteps of Black Arrow through the use of a high-test peroxide (HTP) and Kerosine propellants. According to the company’s website, Skyrora is working on two boosters: the suborbital Skyrora 1 and the three-stage orbital Skyrora XL. The website does not include any information on payload capacity. (11/7)

Pence and Musk Meet (Source: CNN)
Vice President Mike Pence reportedly met with Elon Musk last month to discuss the National Space Council. A source said the two met at a Los Angeles hotel while Pence was in town for a fundraising event. The details of the discussion have not been disclosed. Musk was involved in two presidential advisory councils at the beginning of the Trump administration, but resigned from them after Trump announced the U.S. was withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell did testify at the first meeting of the council last month, chaired by Pence. (11/5)

Spaceflight Seeks $150M Investment (Source: GeekWire)
Regulatory filings show that Spaceflight Industries is seeking to raise as much as $150 million. A filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission stated that the company had raised $40 million to date, with a plan to raise up to $150 million. Spaceflight offers rideshare services for small satellites, while its Black Sky unit is developing an Earth-imaging satellite constellation. In September, Spaceflight announced an agreement with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio that included those companies making an investment in Spaceflight. (11/5)

Xtar Hopes for Spanish Government Support (Source: Space News)
Xtar is looking to the Spanish government for support to replace its existing satellites that provide X-band military satellite communications. Xtar has suffered a sharp decline in revenue in recent years tied to reduction of troop levels in the Middle East. Xtar's president, though, said that Hisdesat, which owns a minority stake in in Xtar and is itself partially owned by Spain's Ministry of Defence, supports Xtar as it makes decisions in the near future about replacement satellites. (11/5)

Milner Funds Space Efforts with Russian-Supported Gains (Source: New York Times)
A Russian billionaire who is funding space projects got wealthy thanks in part to funds provided by the Russian government. An investigation found that investors in Yuri Milner's funds, which backed companies like Facebook and Twitter, included Gazprom Investholding and VTB, financial institutions controlled by the Russian government. Milner said that he treated those investors like any other, and did not receive special treatment or access to the companies Milner invested their money in. Milner has used his own wealth, derived from the success of those investments, to back efforts like the Breakthrough Listen SETI project and Breakthrough Starshot, which is developing technologies for future interstellar probes. (11/5)

Satellite Manufacturers Report Mixed Results for the Third Quarter (Source: Via Satellite)
Earnings were a mixed bag for satellite manufacturers this quarter, and more than one company blamed few satellite orders for their lackluster bottom lines. Click here for some quick summaries of how manufacturers fared in the third quarter of 2017. (11/3)

Raytheon Delivering Next-Generation GPS Control System (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
After several delays, Raytheon has delivered part of the Operational Control System (OCX) to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) for use on the USAF’s next generation global positioning system (GPS III) satellites. The new OCX improves the accuracy of positioning information for all users. This first portion of the OCX, the Launch and Checkout System (LCS), is now being tested under the GPS III Mission Readiness Campaign. The Los Angeles Air Force Base reports that the ground system is performing as expected during the rehearsals and space vehicle checkout, giving the USAF confidence that it can support launch and on-orbit operations.

The delivery of the LCX marks a significant program milestone, as it provides the USAF with a cyber-hardened ground system to support the launch and on-orbit checkout of the GPS III satellites. Dubbed “Block 0,” the LCS will control Launch and Early Orbit (LEO) operations and the on-orbit checkout of all GPS III satellites. OCX Block 0 also provides the hardware, software, and cybersecurity base for Block 1.

Block 1 should give GPS III the capability to control all legacy satellites and civil signals, military signals, as well as the GPS III satellites and the modernized civil signal, and the aviation safety-of-flight signals. In addition, Block 1 enables USAF to control the modernized military signals as well as the globally compatible signal. (11/6)

What Central Florida Can Gain From Japanese Company Partnerships (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
CEntral Florida stands to gain major job creators in the high tech and manufacturing industries - if it can convince a few Japanese companies to do business in the region. With rockets launching and landing multiple times a month from the Space Coast - in addition to rocket refurbishing and assembly taking place - there's sure to be a demand for nearby local supploiers, and Shinichi Aibe wants his firm to be one of them. "Aerospace is filled with new technology and there are a lot of companies that are trying to disrupt the industry," Matthews said. "...Japanese companies want to be a part of that." (11/3)

Plotting U.S. Space Policy with White House Adviser Scott Pace (Source: Scientific American)
"Its purpose is the same as most any White House coordinating body that works issues which cut across multiple departments and agencies: to press the president’s agenda down and oversee that it’s being done, and then to adjudicate issues that come up, where there naturally will be conflicts or differences of viewpoint between different agencies." Click here. (11/6)

USAF Bolstering Ground-Based Radar Sites, Including Space Fence Radar at Eglin AFB (Source: Air Force Magazine)
As part of its transition to a new concept of the space situational awareness mission, the Air Force is in the process of adding sensitive compartmented information facilities (SCIFs) to its installations with ground-based space surveillance radars.

A SCIF is a facility certified for the sharing of certain types of classified information. Currently, only the AN/FPS-85 phased array radar at Eglin AFB, Fla., has a SCIF, said Col. Douglas Schiess, commander of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., during an AFA Mitchell Institute event in Washington, D.C. Friday. The AN/FPS-85 is the only phased array radar capable of tracking objects 40,000 kilometers away. Click here. (6/12)