December 29, 2017

ASRC Wins Air Force Launch Support Contract at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: DOD)
ASRC has been awarded a $395,000,000 Air Force IDIQ contract for launch operations and infrastructure support at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport and Eastern Range annexes. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and four offers were received. (12/26)

Russia Restores Contact with Angosat Satellite (Source: TASS)
Russian officials said they have restored contact with the newly launched Angosat-1 satellite. In a statement, satellite manufacturer RSC Energia said they were again receiving telemetry from the satellite and that "all its systems settings are in order." The communications satellite, launched Tuesday on a Zenit, stopped transmitting shortly after deployment from the rocket's upper stage. Energia suggested an issue with the satellite's battery may have caused the temporary loss of communications. (12/29)

Orlando Magic Unveil Space-Themed Jersey (Source: WBDO)
The NBA's Orlando Magic will have a space-themed jersey. The team revealed the jersey this week, featuring its logo on a star field background intended to pay homage to Central Florida's history of space exploration. The jersey is part of the league's "City Edition" series of alternative jerseys, and the Magic will wear it for the first time in a game in late January. (12/27)

Failed Space Launches Haunt Russia; Kremlin Eyes Probe (Source: Seattle Times)
Russia’s latest space launch failures have prompted authorities to take a closer look into the nation’s struggling space industry, the Kremlin said Thursday. A Russian weather satellite and nearly 20 micro-satellites from other nations were lost following a failed launch from Russia’s new cosmodrome in the Far East on Nov. 28. And in another blow to the Russian space industry, communications with a Russian-built communications satellite for Angola, the African nation’s first space vehicle, were lost following its launch on Tuesday.

Asked about the failures, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Thursday that authorities warrant a thorough analysis of the situation in the space industry. Amid the failures, Russian officials have engaged in a round of finger-pointing. Click here. (12/28)

China Tests New Ballistic Missiles with Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (Source: Space Daily)
The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force has conducted two flight tests of a new ballistic missile attached to a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), US officials confirmed in a recent intelligence assessment. The two DF-17 ballistic missile tests occurred November 1 and November 15, respectively, a US official briefed on the intelligence assessment told the Diplomat on December 28. (12/29)

2018 a Big Year of Transition for Military Space (Source: Space News)
A controversial shakeup of the military space organization mandated by Congress will get underway in 2018. Details of how and when the changes will unfold are slowly emerging. A laundry list of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act will reshape the military space chain of command and oversight of programs. Pentagon and Air Force officials are still grappling with the full extent of the reforms, the most significant of which is the removal of the role of principal Defense Department space adviser from the secretary of the Air Force. (12/29)

Italy's Avio Expanding Vega Launch Abilities, Mulls “Light” Mini-Variant (Source: Space News)
Designers of Europe’s light-lift Vega rocket are creating a slew of new products intended to lure prospective customers away from India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and to fend off the coming wave of launch startups that are developing dedicated rockets for cubesats and other small satellites.

Avio’s product mix includes a suite of advanced offerings meant to challenge PSLV on grounds other than price — a factor both Avio and the European Space Agency admit plays to India’s advantage — as well as a possible “mini-launcher” variant, to perform dedicated missions for cubesats and larger but still low-mass satellites. (12/28)

NASA, American Girl Inspire Next Generation of Space Explorers (Source: NASA)
NASA is collaborating with a well-known doll and book company to inspire children to dream big and reach for the stars. Through a Space Act Agreement, NASA partnered with American Girl to share the excitement of space with the public, and in particular, inspire young girls to learn about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

NASA provided the company subject matter experts for their advisory board, provided input for an upcoming book series, and also reviewed merchandise as it was developed for a new STEM-inspired character to ensure authenticity and adherence to agency graphic and media usage standards. In addition to technical advice, NASA provided imagery and content for a new American Girl app and educational website. The app and website will offer children space simulations, educational quizzes, challenges, and more. (12/28)

This Aerospace Company Is Ready To Blast Off (Source: ValueWalk)
It would be great to be able to invest in a company with such a unique and monopoly-like focus as SpaceX and Blue Horizon, but unfortunately that’s not an easy option; these companies are not publicly traded. However, I believe the next best option is investing in the systems that make these companies’ rockets “go.” I believe I’ve found the best investment in the space industry right now. It’s a relatively small aerospace and defense company here in the United States. Its specialty is propulsion systems, which comes in handy when working with rockets and other space-traveling vehicles. In fact, it’s the largest producer of space propulsion and power systems in the U.S.

The company also has a huge client for whom it does most of its business: NASA. In the past, most of the business it has done for NASA involved the space shuttle. It also supplies the batteries used to keep the station running. Another project this company has been selected to work on is the propulsion system for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Experimental Spaceplane. In this project, it is collaborating with Boeing to make a hybrid airplane/traditional launch vehicle that will be used to send military satellites into space.

Of course, any company can sound like a great investment, but it still has to be financially stable to actually be a great investment. That’s why I believe Aerojet Rocketdyne is on the verge of newfound growth in revenue due to the revitalized space program. Looking at Aerojet’s stock price, it’s obvious that the market has discovered the company’s growth potential. The stock has gone up about 100% over the past year. But I still believe it has plenty of room to grow going forward. (12/27)

Presidential Visions for Space Exploration: From Ike to Trump (Source: Space.com)
Kennedy, of course, isn't the only leader who had a vision for the nation's space program. Since NASA's founding in 1958, every president from Eisenhower to Obama has left his mark. Take a look at how each U.S. commander-in-chief helped shape and steer American activities in space. Click here. (12/28)

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Buys More Land Near Kent HQ for Expansion (Source: Puget Sound Business Journal)
Blue Origin has purchased 31 acres of agricultural land for $14 million. Owned by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, Kent-based Blue Origin filed plans with the city to build office/warehouse structures on the property. "The company employs over 750 people at its Kent headquarters and anticipates adding hundreds more in the coming years," Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke said in April.

"An expansion project is underway on what is known as the Barnier Property near its current campus, and Blue Origin has additionally purchased a 120,000-square-foot building across the street for further growth." Blue Origin is using that building to manufacture some BE-4 rocket engines and reusable booster rockets. Bezos has sold $1 billion worth of Amazon.com stock annually in recent years to fund the space business. (12/27)

Emerging Technologies in Healthcare Will Benefit the Future of Space Health (Source: LinkedIn)
To ensure astronauts stay healthy on long-duration spaceflights to the Moon, Mars and beyond, we can learn from terrestrial healthcare innovation. New technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are making tremendous progress to a point where they could possibly provide real care. Conversational AI services are actually being set-up and tested worldwide to play a role in psychological coaching for patients.

Virtual- and augmented-reality tools can also be used to train astronauts for medical procedures in a realistic way, which is something startups are working on for terrestrial healthcare, for example for surgery. Digital solutions ensure on-demand availability of care, focused on patients instead of centered around institutions. At the same time, terrestrial healthcare might benefit from solutions that are the result of designing for extreme environments. (12/28)

NASA Works with FAA to Upgrade Air Traffic Control (Source: KJZZ)
The Federal Aviation Administration and NASA are joining on a new system designed to smooth air traffic control operations by integrating arrival, departure and surface control under one system. "NASA brings some sort of scheduling capability and tools and interfaces it to the existing systems, and on to the controller and flight crews in order for them to conform to those schedules," said Leighton Quon, NASA project manager. (12/26)