January 10, 2018

10 Space Startups Investors Loved in 2017 (Source: Satellite Today)
What interests me most about covering the NewSpace industry is seeing which companies really have what it takes to make the cut. Beyond the snappy elevator pitches, entrepreneurs must prove that their businesses are not only unique and innovative, but substantial enough to generate revenue once the rubber hits the road — something each of the following companies worked to accomplish in 2017. While this isn’t a full list of every funding round that took place last year, the Via Satellite team thinks these 10 companies are ones that hold serious potential as the NewSpace arena continues to mature. Click here. (1/9) 

Scientists Baffled by Diamond-Filled Alien Stone (Source: IBT)
In 1996, researchers discovered an extraterrestrial stone in Egypt which was later named after the 4-5th century scientist Hypatia of Alexandria. Further analysis of the alien pebble revealed that the diamond-filled stone did not come from any known comet or meteorite and had unique features.

Scientists have now discovered that the alien stone contains exotic micro-mineral compounds not found anywhere on Earth or on any meteorites or comets – these compounds are in fact found nowhere else in the entire Solar System. Some of the minerals found in the extraterrestrial space rock were found to predate the existence of the Sun, the Earth and all other Solar System planets. (1/10)

NASA Wants Government to Stop Hitting Reset Button After Trump Shifts Target From Mars to Moon (Source: IBT)
NASA has been ordered by the administration of US President Donald Trump to go back to the Moon instead of focusing on Mars, leaving experts baffled as to what this would accomplish. The impact this order will have on Mars missions and the investment and research that have gone into various projects under directions from the previous government is being questioned by the space community.

The acting administrator of NASA, Robert Lightfoot, offered few details as to the timeline, partner companies and countries that will be involved in the Moon mission. He said details will emerge when the president places the annual budget request before Congress. According to the Washington Post, one of the biggest challenges NASA has faced in recent years is not in terms of technological development, but rather dealing with the orders of politicians and flat budgets.

This major shift in focus of the human spaceflight program is happening for the third time in as many government changes. The space agency's change in direction has upset many in the space community, said Scott Hubbard, former director of the NASA Ames Research Center. "Please don't push the reset button again, because you're just going to waste billions of dollars of previous investment," he said he heard people say. (1/10)

Japan's Aerospace Agency Developing Radar Detecting Space Micro-Debris (Source: Space Daily)
Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is developing a radar that will be capable of detecting space micro-debris of about 10 centimeters. JAXA's current can find debris only of over 150 centimeters in Earth orbit, whereas the future radar, expected to enter service in 2023, will be about 200 times more sensitive. The new device will aim to study the ways of preventing the collisions between the space debris and the satellites that are operating at the height of up to 2,000 kilometers. (1/9)

Aerospace Workforce Training - National Mandate for 2018 (Source: Space Daily)
As the aerospace workforce ages and technology advances it is imperative to continually train engineers and managers to refresh and advance their knowledge base in order to keep the U.S. competitive. This challenge is further complicated by the fact that over the past few years roughly 40% of U.S. skilled tradesman have retired.

In 2012, Aviation Week reported that the average age of an aerospace employee was 45, and only 4.19% of all industry employees were between the ages of 22 and 25. This indicates that the demand for workforce training will remain high for at least the next several decades. The size of the aerospace workforce is slowly decreasing, requiring aerospace manufacturers to do more with fewer employees. This means productivity initiatives are even more important to maintain competitiveness. (1/9)

Deep Space Gateway Could Help NASA Gain Expertise in In-Space Servicing and Assembly (Source: Space News)
Engineers and astronomers want NASA to study in-space servicing and assembly of future space observatories. An ad-hoc group formed last year has recommended to NASA that it study the ability to assemble and service space telescopes, including those being proposed for the 2020 decadal survey, to overcome launch limitations and to extend and improve their missions. The Deep Space Gateway could support such work, they argue, and want NASA to consider such activities as one role for the cislunar outpost as the agency develops requirements for it. (1/10)

Arianespace Expects 14 Launches in 2018 (Sources: Reuters/BBC)
Arianespace expects to carry out a record number of launches in 2018. The company announced Tuesday it's planning 14 launches this year, including seven Ariane 5, four Soyuz and three Vega missions. Arianespace announced Tuesday that it signed a contract with Intelsat for two launches, including of the Galaxy-30 communications satellite Intelsat ordered from Orbital ATK earlier this week.  Arianespace also said it's placed an order for a final batch of 10 Ariane 5 rockets that will cover launches into the early 2020s as the new Ariane 6 rocket enters service. (1/9)

Deployment Issue Being Investigated for Boeing Satellite (Source: Space News)
Boeing is investigating a problem with antennas on the ViaSat-2 satellite. ViaSat chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg said Tuesday that it's working with Boeing, the manufacturer, to understand "some kind of deployment-type of issue" with at least some of the antennas on the satellite, launched last June. The problem won't alter plans to put the satellite into commercial service in February, and won't have a material effect on its services or the company's revenue. (1/9)

Wing Commander Expects 35 Florida Launches in 2018 (Source: Florida Today)
The general in charge of the 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral is planning a busy year for the spaceport. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith said he is projecting up to 35 launches from the Eastern Range in 2018, a figure that includes some submarine-launched Trident missile tests off the coast. Monteith said the range is working to support up to 48 launches a year, or one a week with two two-week maintenance periods each year. (1/10)

Japanese Astronaut Overstated His Space Growth Spurt (Source: Reuters)
A Japanese astronaut said he had a growth spurt while in space, only to later call the claim "fake news." Norishige Kanai, who arrived on the International Space Station last month, tweeted Monday that he had grown by nine centimeters while in weightlessness. It's common for people to grow slightly while in microgravity, but only by a few centimeters. Kanai said he was worried he might not fit into his customized Soyuz seat when he returns to Earth later this year. A day later, though, he tweeted that he had grown only two centimeters, saying the earlier value was a "mis-measurement" of some kind. "I must apologize for this terrible fake news," he wrote. (1/10)

SiriusXM Sees Subscriber Jump in 2017 (Source: SiriusXM)
SiriusXM added 1.56 million satellite radio subscribers in 2017, bringing its total subscriber count to 32.7 million. The satellite operator said it expects to meet or exceed 2017 guidance for revenue, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and free cash flow. SiriusXM expects to generate approximately $5.7 billion in 2018 revenue, with an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $2.15 billion, and free cash flow of around $1.5 billion. (1/9)

SoftBank's $1bn Lights Fire Under Satellite Constellation (Source: Nikkei)
Inside Airbus' plant in the south of France, workers dressed in cleanroom suits are piecing together satellites by hand. The installation of each part represents a small step toward a giant communications leap -- a prospect that has attracted some of the biggest stars in business, from Richard Branson to SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son.

OneWeb, a U.S. startup founded by big dreamer Greg Wyler, plans to test-launch 10 of the satellites from French Guiana in March. If the testing goes well, the company intends to launch more over the course of two years at a pace of 36 satellites every 21 days. This will blanket Earth with a constellation of 720 -- 900 if you count reserve units.

Coupled with ground stations, this should make the internet accessible from any spot on the planet. A $1 billion investment from Son's SoftBank Vision Fund is helping to pay for the ambitious endeavor. When Son and Wyler first met in September 2016, the latter quickly recognized that Son was a long-term thinker who understood the true significance of the satellite project. (1/7)

Zuma's Fate a Mystery (Source: Reuters)
The fate of the classified Zuma mission is unclear amid reports the satellite failed to separate from its upper stage. Government sources claim that the mission is feared lost because it either broke up or reentered shortly after launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9. SpaceX said that reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 "performed nominally" on the launch. Northrop Grumman, which built the Zuma spacecraft and payload adapter, as declined to comment, citing the classified nature of the mission. The Zuma spacecraft, identified as USA 280, does appear in a spacecraft catalog maintained by the U.S. Air Force, although with no orbital information listed. (1/7)

China Launches Two Commercial Satellites (Source: GB Times)
A Long March rocket launched two commercial imaging satellites late Monday. The Long March 2D rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center at 10:24 p.m. Eastern and placed two SuperView-1 imaging satellites into orbit. The satellites, operated by Chinese company Beijing Space View Technology Company Ltd., join two others launched in late 2016 to provide high-resolution Earth imagery. The launch is the first of as many as 40 Chinese missions slated to fly in 2018. (1/8)

Intelsat Orders Orbital ATK Satellite (Source: Space News)
Intelsat has ordered a satellite from Orbital ATK to begin a partial replenishment of its Galaxy fleet. The Galaxy 30 satellite, slated for launch in 2020, will carry a C-band payload for television broadcasts, along with Ku- and Ka-band capacity for broadband connectivity. The satellite is the first in a series designed to replace Intelsat's Galaxy line of satellites that serve North America. (1/8)

Trump Re-Nominates Bridenstine and Myers for NASA and NOAA Leadership (Source: Space News)
The White House has resubmitted nominations for the leaders of NASA and NOAA to the Senate. The administration announced late Monday it was renominating Jim Bridenstine to be administrator of NASA and Barry Myers to be administrator of NOAA, part of several dozen nominations being resubmitted to the Senate. The nominations were a procedural move to comply with a Senate rule that returns nominations to the White House at the end of a session if the Senate does not confirm or reject them. The Bridenstine and Myers nominations, which were previously approved on party-line votes by the Senate Commerce Committee, face a narrower path to confirmation with Republicans now holding only a 51–49 majority in the Senate. (1/8)

ULA Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit (Source: Denver Post)
United Launch Alliance has settled a lawsuit filed by a former employee who alleged the company had defrauded the government. Under the settlement, reached last month, ULA will pay more than $430,000, of which the former employee, Joseph Scott, will receive more than $82,000. Scott filed the suit under the Federal Civil False Claims Act claiming that the company overcharged the government by tens of millions of dollars for labor by using arbitrary estimates when more accurate estimates were available. ULA, in the settlement, admitted no wrongdoing. (1/8)

Blue Origin Lights Up BE-4 Engine in Tests (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Blue Origin is continuing to make progress in the development of its BE-4 engine. The company released video Monday of one such test, lasting about 10 seconds. The engine is exceeding the company's targets for specific impulse, while also demonstrating its "deep throttling" ability. Blue Origin is developing the BE-4 for its New Glenn rocket, and is under consideration by ULA for its Vulcan rocket. (1/8)

India's Team Indus Not Likely to Meet Lunar X Prize Deadline (Source: Business Standard)
The Indian team in the Google Lunar X Prize competition is reportedly calling off plans to carry out a launch before the prize deadline. Officials with the Indian space agency ISRO, which was providing the launch of the Team Indus lander, said that the team had failed to find the funds for the launch contract. The team has not confirmed those reports. Team Indus is one of five finalists in the competition, and had planned to carry a rover build by another team, Japan's Team Hakuto. Competitors have to land their spacecraft on the moon and carry out other competition objectives by the end of March to win the $20 million grand prize. (1/8)

Secrecy Makes it Hard to Clarify What Happened to Zuma (Source: Space News)
Nobody at the Pentagon or at Northrop Grumman — which provided the payload and its adapter — would comment, citing the sensitivity of the classified mission. SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell put out a statement Tuesday saying Falcon 9's part of the mission went off as planned. “After review of all the data to data, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night,” she said. And she noted that any reports that the rocket failed are “categorically false.”

Shotwell said preparations for SpaceX's upcoming launches remain unchanged, another suggestion SpaceX doesn't have concerns about its rocket's performance Sunday. Satellite tracker Marco Langbroek posted an image of a spectacular green-blue "spiral" taken by an airline pilot that “almost certainly” shows the Falcon 9 upper stage dumping fuel about 2 hours and 15 minutes after launch and prior to its planned reentry, suggesting nominal Falcon performance.
 
"We know the [18th Space Control Squadron] did indeed catalog an object from the launch, which they say was the payload," Weeden said. "So unless that was itself a big mistake, something ended up in orbit for at least a brief period of time. And according to the 18 SPCS, that object is still on orbit (it hasn’t been marked “decayed” yet), although again they might not be as quick to make that change for a classified payload." Those of us without the proper clearances may never know what happened to Zuma, but if SpaceX doesn't break cadence in the weeks ahead, we'll at least be reasonably sure Falcon 9 isn't to blame. (1/9)