December 24, 2017

Tax Cut Bill Threatens Military Growth (Source: Space News)
The top Democrat on the House Armed Serves Committee believes the new tax cut bill makes it impossible to raise spending on military or other discretionary programs. In an interview, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said the tax bill, passed on party lines in the House Wednesday after the Senate similarly approved it Tuesday, "means there is not going to be any significant increases in any spending," let alone the large increases sought for military programs. Smith's committee developed a defense bill that authorized $30 billion more than what the White House requested and $85 billion above the caps set by the Budget Control Act. (12/21)

OneWeb Executive Leaves for Intelsat (Source: Space News)
The former CEO of Thuraya has left OneWeb after less than a year there. Samer Halawi is leaving OneWeb to become the chief commercial officer at Intelsat. Halawi joined OneWeb in a similar position in March, when OneWeb and Intelsat were pursuing a merger that later fell through. Intelsat cited Halawai's "extensive background and expertise in mobility services" as a key reason for hiring him. (12/21)

New Alloy Key to Rocketdyne AR1 Engine (Source: Space News)
A key factor in Aerojet Rocketdyne's efforts to develop the AR1 engine may be a new alloy. Mondaloy, a nickel-based superalloy invented in the 1990s, is being used by the company because it can be used in oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle engines while keeping the engines lightweight. One of the developers of the alloy at the company said it is key to meeting the company's affordability goals for the engine. (12/21)

Mars Rocks Absorbed Its Water (Source: Space.com)
Mars might have lost its water to its rocks. A new study argues that water that flowed on the surface early in its history was absorbed by its rocks and buried deep underground. That process, scientists believe, could account for the planet's "missing" water not lost to space or locked up in subsurface ice. Even if the planet had retained its atmosphere and magnetic field, the rocks may have still absorbed most of the planet's water. (12/21)

South Auckland Suburb Becoming the New Zealand's Space Industry Capitol (Source: Manukau Courier)
A south Auckland suburb is contributing much to propel the growth of the space industry in New Zealand. Rocket Lab, based in Māngere, is creating access to space along with dozens of employment opportunities. Peter Beck founded Rocket Lab in 2006 and established the company in New Zealand and the United States.

He went to the US looking for opportunities but came back to pursue it here. In 2009, Beck led the development and launch of Atea 1, with Rocket Lab becoming the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space. "New Zealand has a unique position. We're a US company but we're in New Zealand," he says. "New Zealand is not known for its space industry. We're here because of its launch site ... we can achieve all of the orbits and the frequency that we want to achieve." (12/22)

Spaceport America’s Busy Year Demonstrates Potential (Source: Santa Fe New Mexican)
Spaceport America in Southern New Mexico had one of its busiest years with more than a dozen vertical launches, a pair of balloon flights pulled off by Boeing Co. and flight tests of Virgin Galactic’s mother ship. All the activity this year demonstrated the spaceport’s potentially magnetic appeal for the commercial space industry, said officials that manage the futuristic facility.

As competition among spaceports is increasing nationally and internationally, the state may need to take more aggressive marketing actions in order to attract more business, the Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday. Spaceport CEO Dan Hicks said the country has 10 other licensed spaceports with applications pending for nine more. The spaceports are competing in a market that spent some $339 billion in 2016.

“A tremendous amount of money is being invested,” Hicks said. “It’s the next big frontier.” The space industry continues to change, so Spaceport America needs to stay ahead of that change, Hicks said. “We have a great customer base and revenue stream now, but we have to grow that foundation,” Hicks said. The New Mexico facility does have some advantages over others. Spaceport America offers unlimited access from the ground to space because the facility is away from population centers and is located in restricted government airspace. (12/23)

Tucson Tech: Paragon Grows NASA Business While Eyeing New-Space Work (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
While new technologies and a wave of private spaceflight ventures have created a so-called “New Space” industry, one Tucson company is going strong more than two decades after starting out in the space business. Tucson-based Paragon Space Development, a maker of life-support and thermal control systems for spacecraft, is not only thriving as a resurgent NASA looks to resume human space exploration, but it’s looking to ride the swelling wave of private space development as well. (12/23)

Long March 2D Sends China’s Second Land Surveying Satellite to Orbit (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
China launched into space its second Land Surveying Satellite (LKW-2) on December 23 atop a Long March 2D booster. The rocket lifted off from Launch Area 4 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC). The mission is shrouded in secrecy as Chinese media has kept the details about the pre-launch preparations and the launch itself under tight wraps. Therefore, the exact timeline of the flight is unknown. (12/23)

Be Amazed! SpaceX's Spectacular Iridium-4 Launch in Photos (Source: Space.com)
On Dec. 22, 2017, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 10 Iridium Next communications satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, creating dazzling views across Southern California. See the photos here! (12/24)

The White House Shoots for the Moon (Source: Town Hall)
Earlier this month, President Donald J. Trump signed a space policy directive to "restore American leadership in space." To the excitement of many, this directive includes sending men back to the Moon and perhaps even Mars. The prospect of making dreams a reality once again is enthralling, something we will do, echoing a previous chief executive, not because it is easy but because it is hard.

To do all this, to optimize performance and ensure a successful, modern-day space program, government appropriators must adhere to a standard set of business protocols. It is essential NASA and the White House have clear goals in mind and ensure the interests of the country are at the heart of every mission. Stating the objective of going to the moon is not enough; bureaucrats need to take the process a step further and iron out precisely what it wants to achieve, how much it will cost to do so, and why the country will be better off as a result. (12/23)

Research Benefiting from More Rocket Launches, Companies (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Josh Colwell has experienced rocket launches differently than most others. Sure, he says, he “enjoys the spectacle” that comes with a powerful rocket taking off from a Space Coast launch pad. But in 2014, when he sent an experiment into space aboard a SpaceX rocket, Colwell couldn’t help but be nervous because he knew that any movement or rattle could destroy the project he had worked years to set up.

“You mentally go through all of the various things that can go wrong,” said Colwell, a University of Central Florida professor whose experiment aims to increase understanding of the solar system’s origin by studying slow-speed collisions between dust particles in zero gravity. “You imagine what the experiment will do up until the moment you actually have it in space. That can be a somewhat anxious feeling.” Click here. (12/24)