January 5, 2018

SpaceX Targeting Late January for Falcon Heavy Debut (Source: Space News)
SpaceX is now planning to attempt the first launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket around the end of this month, the company’s chief executive said Jan. 4. The company rolled the rocket, featuring three Falcon 9 first stages mounted side-by-side with a second stage mounted on top of the center booster, to the pad for the first time Dec. 28, raising it to the vertical position for fit checks there. The rocket was lowered and rolled back to its hangar the next day. (1/4)

Orbital ATK Signs Rocket Development Deal with US Air Force (Source: Space Daily)
Orbital has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). The CRADA provides the framework and plan for data exchanges needed to certify Orbital ATK's Next Generation Launch (NGL) system to carry National Security Space missions.

"Under this CRADA, Orbital ATK is better able to support SMC in being the guardians of assured access to space," said Scott Lehr, President of Orbital ATK's Flight Systems Group. "We look forward to certifying NGL to launch National Security Space Missions." Orbital ATK is currently in early production of development hardware for NGL. To date, the company has jointly invested with the Air Force more than $200 million to develop the NGL rocket family.

The next phase of the NGL program is expected to begin when the Air Force awards Launch Services Agreements in mid-2018, which would entail full vehicle and launch site development, with work taking place at company facilities in Promontory and Magna, Utah; Iuka, Mississippi; Chandler, Arizona; Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (1/5)

Florida Studied Polar Launch Options in the 1990s (Source: SPACErePORT)
Back when we were studying options for Florida's commercial spaceport authority in the early 1990s, a polar launch site option was considered for the northern Gulf Coast. Cape San Blas and Santa Rosa Island were studied for missions that would 'shoot the gap' between the Yucatan and Cuba. Public concerns about the impact of such missions in the Cape San Blas community led to legislative language that allowed only suborbital launches from the site. Several Super Loki missions were launched from there, but no further serious efforts were put toward finding an alternative site for polar orbit missions. (1/4)

Australian Study Assesses Global Space Spending (Source: Bryce)
The global space economy was worth an estimated $345 billion in 2016, one quarter government budgets and three quarters commercial revenue. Close to 50 nations have government space budgets, nine over $1 billon, and nearly 20 under $100 million. Nine national space budgets (considering Europe collectively) exceed $1 billion: those of the United States, China, Europe (collectively), Russia, India, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy. The United States leads in government space spending, with an estimated $48 billion spread among 11 agencies and offices. China follows at $11 billion. Click here. (1/5)

ArianeGroup Gets Into Space Situational Awareness (Source: Space News)
ArianeGroup has established a space situational awareness line of business. The company said that France's Joint Space Command became the first customer last month for GEOTracker, a network of ground-based telescopes that monitor satellites and other objects in geostationary orbit. GEOTracker operates six telescopes around the world capable of detecting objects as small as one meter across in geostationary orbit. The system, developed with internal "seed money" over the last few years, will expand to track smaller objects now that it has customers. (1/5)

NASA to Fly Science Payload on Commercial Satellite (Source: Space News)
NASA's first science mission to fly as a hosted payload on a commercial satellite is ready for launch. Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) is a hosted payload on the SES-14 communications satellite, scheduled for launch in late January on an Ariane 5. GOLD will monitor conditions in the ionosphere as the upper atmosphere interacts with the solar wind and geomagnetic storms. Hosted payloads have long promised more frequent and less expensive flight opportunities for government missions, but have been used only infrequently by NASA and other agencies. (1/5)

Boeing and ULA Progress on Starliner Plans for Atlas 5 (Source: ULA)
The rocket that will carry Boeing's commercial crew vehicle has passed a key review. United Launch Alliance said Thursday that it completed a design certification review for the Atlas 5 that will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The review completes the design work needed to accommodate the crewed spacecraft on the rocket. An uncrewed flight test of the CST-100 is scheduled for launch in August, followed by a crewed launch late this year. (1/5)

China is Preparing for a Groundbreaking 2018 Mission to Land on the Far Side of the Moon (Source: Ancient Code)
China is preparing its Chang’e 4 mission, which if successful, would mark the first time a country has landed on the far side of the moon. The Chinese space agency even wants to try and grow plants and insects on the moon, paving the way for future human colonies on Earth’s natural satellite.

According to reports from China, the nation’s space agency is set for a groundbreaking 2018 mission to the far side of the moon. China aims to land on the far side of the moon and will even try to grow plants and insects on the surface of the moon. The mission is considered as one of the most complicated and difficult missions to space, China has ever attempted. (1/3)

Boeing CST-100 Starliner One Step Closer to Flight with Completion of DCR (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The first flight of Boeing's CST-100 "Starliner" spacecraft is one step closer to the launch pad with the successful completion of an Atlas V Launch Segment Design Certification Review (DCR). Colorado-based United Launch Alliance announced on Thursday, Jan. 4, that the review had been completed in support of Boeing's efforts to send astronauts to the International Space Station via Starliner. (1/4)

NASA Commercial Crew Program Mission in Sight for 2018 (Source: NASA)
NASA and industry partners, Boeing and SpaceX, are targeting the return of human spaceflight from Florida’s Space Coast in 2018. Both companies are scheduled to begin flight tests to prove the space systems meet NASA’s requirements for certification in the coming year. The companies have matured space system designs and now have substantial spacecraft and launch vehicle hardware in development and testing in preparation for the test flights. Click here. (1/4) 

Scientific Ballooning Takes Off (Source: Nature)
Private companies want to take scientific experiments sky-high in 2018 — aboard high-altitude balloons. For decades, agencies including NASA and France’s National Centre for Space Studies have flown balloon-borne experiments to realms higher than aeroplanes can reach but lower than satellites’ orbits. Now, companies such as World View of Tucson, Arizona, are lofting payloads quickly and cheaply into the stratosphere, between 16 and 30 kilometers up.

The commercial balloon flights have new capabilities that open up fresh types of science — such as low-cost monitoring of natural disasters, or testing how to explore Venus by studying Earth’s geology, says Alan Stern, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and a co-founder of World View. “We’re turning what was rare scientific ballooning into something routine,” Stern says. (1/4)

KSC Labs Increasingly Involved in Emerging Markets R&D (Source: NASA)
The 40-plus laboratories at KSC provide research and development in the fields of chemistry, surface systems, physics, electrical and electronics systems, fluids, mechanical engineering, structural engineering, information technology and communications. The skills available and the innovations developed in those labs are diverse, and many have uses outside of spaceflight.

Examples include chemochromic tape used for detecting hydrogen leaks, a new state-of-the art lightning detection system, new environmental remediation methods, high-efficiency insulation systems and cryogenic life support systems that can be used in closed environments such as underground mining operations.

In addition to facilitating the transfer of new technology to outside customers, NASA is targeting certain markets for collaboration, including space tourism and next-generation renewable energy.  These efforts are part of NASA’s goal to foster the integration of new technologies and support industries that bring about healthy growth in the space economy. Click here. (1/4)

Your Guide to Commercial Space Travel in 2018 (Source: CNN)
It's is a good time to start tuning into the business of space. The months ahead could bring some monumental developments in the booming commercial space industry. Here's a look at what's on the calendar this year. Note that this industry is notoriously loose with deadlines, so it's possible that a few endeavors planned for 2018 will be pushed back. Click here. (1/4)

Iridium NEXT Payloads: Enabling Unique Applications for Safety & Efficiency (Source: Iridium)
See how Iridium's satellite network supports global aircraft and ocean vessel tracking with hosted payloads developed by Harris Corp. on Florida's Space Coast. Click here. (12/22)