February 1, 2018

Group Plans Workshop for Apprenticeships Effort (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Space Coast Consortium, a group of aerospace industry and academic stakeholders, is planning a Feb. 9 workshop at Space Florida's offices at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The group will discuss plans to implement world-class apprenticeship programs to support the state's growing demand for aerospace workers. Companies concerned about workforce availability for space, aviation, defense, and other manufacturing operations are encouraged to participate. Contact Bryan Kamm at bryank@bkammconsulting.com for information. (2/1)

Tax Cut is Draining Treasury Faster Than Expected (Source: Vanity Fair)
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the federal government will run out of money even sooner than expected, thanks to the new tax legislation, which is estimated to lead to a fall in revenue of $136 billion in 2018. A default on debts had originally been forecasted for late March or early April. But now, because of the new withholding tables, combined with the fact that the Treasury generally issues a high number of tax refunds in February and March, means that the debt ceiling increase may be needed in early March. (2/1)

We Just Entered Golden Age of Space Exploration. Why All the Pessimism? (Source: USA Today)
Thanks in part to infusions of capital and energy from tycoons like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos private rocket companies are doing things that only governments previously did, and they’re doing them faster and better. We’re moving back into space in a big way, and not on the old one-shot Apollo model, which was impressive but ultimately unsustainable. And that’s not the only way things are improving.

So as you find yourself getting angry on social media, or yelling at the TV news, you might want to take a step back and reflect on the larger trends. In a few hundred years, people will remember our era for these great changes, rather than what someone said on Twitter. And they’ll probably wonder why people today seemed so upset. (2/1)

Couture That Combines Japanese Craftsmanship with the Science of Space Travel (Source: CNN)
Yuima Nakazato has long worked at the intersection of fashion and technology. Having made his name through 3D printing and digital fabrication, the Japanese designer is now pushing a new frontier: outer space. His latest collection, Harmonize -- which debuted last night at the Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris -- is clearly inspired by the aesthetics of space travel. But, according to Nakazato, it also draws on the technology that allows astronauts to live and work in such difficult conditions. Click here. (2/1)

Soyuz Launches 11 Satellites From Vostochny Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Soyuz rocket placed 11 satellites into orbit late Wednesday in the first launch from a new Russian site since a November failure. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East at 9:07 p.m. Eastern. The rocket's primary payload was a pair of Kanopus Earth-observation satellites. The rocket also carried nine smallsat secondary payloads, including four Lemur-2 cubesats for Spire and D-Star One Phoenix, a German cubesat that is a replacement for one lost in a Soyuz launch from Vostochny in November. (2/1)

OneWeb at Odds with FCC and Other Satellite Companies Over Coverage Rule (Source: Space News)
OneWeb is opposed to an FCC proposal that would eliminate a requirement for satellite constellations to provide full coverage of the United States. In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the FCC sought comments on whether it should maintain a nationwide coverage requirement, noting some proposed systems would not include all of the continental U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. OneWeb, in a filing also signed by Intelsat and Hughes, opposed the proposal. Several other companies planning non-geostationary orbit systems, including SpaceX, Boeing, SES and Space Norway, filed comments in support of the proposal. (2/1)

NASA Has Role in Ariane 5 Mishap Investigation (Source: Space News)
NASA, whose James Webb Space Telescope will launch on an Ariane 5 next year, will be involved in the investigation into last week's launch anomaly. Arianespace and ESA announced the investigation after the anomaly that placed two communications satellites into the wrong orbits. The head of NASA's science directorate said the agency will be part of that investigation, and that ESA has been very open with NASA regarding the investigation. The $8 billion JWST is currently scheduled to launch on an Ariane 5 between March and June 2019. (2/1)

Air Force Opens Competition for Five Launches (Source: USAF)
The Air Force has issued a request for proposals for five future national security launches. The RFP, released late Wednesday, seeks bids for the EELV-class missions for the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office. The payloads range from the fifth SBIRS missile warning satellite to "SILENT BARKER," a classified space situational awareness mission. Proposals are due in mid-April for awards by late 2018, with launches planned in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. (1/31)

$10 Million in New Mexico House Budget Spaceport America Hangar (Source: Santa Fe New Mexican)
A budget passed by one house of the New Mexico legislature includes $10 million for a hangar at Spaceport America. The New Mexico House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the overall $6.3 billion budget, which now goes to the state senate. The funding for the hangar is considered one of the more controversial aspects of the overall bill, but state officials hope the hangar can help increase utilization of the commercial spaceport. (1/31)

SpaceX Texas Funding Request May Indicate Broader Scope at Boca Chica Site (Source: Brownsville Herald)
SpaceX isn’t talking, but a state representative said the company’s request for additional state funds could point to an expansion of SpaceX’s plans for its Boca Chica Beach launch site. “About a year ago, SpaceX came to me with their concept of a new, larger, expanded plan for Boca Chica Beach,” Oliveira said. “The concept went well beyond conducting launches, and would require new commitments for construction, investment and jobs to support the new operations.”

He said he took that information to the same group of legislators that helped secure the first round of funding, and that after “tense negotiation” they were able to secure another $5 million in TSTF funding. In November, the Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism Division, issued a Request for Proposals for infrastructure projects supporting the development of Texas spaceports. Dec. 15 was the deadline to submit applications, which are now being reviewed by the governor’s office. Selected projects will receive some portion of the $5 million in TSTF money. (2/1)

Can Republicans Stop California's Tax on Space Travel? (Source: Washington Examiner)
California's Franchise Tax board announced last summer that it would be slapping a tax on space launch companies operating in the Golden State, to be calculated by a complicated formula taking into account miles traveled through space and frequency of launch. Industry and political leaders in Texas were particularly amused. The idea of taxing space travel sounded like just the sort of joke that Texans might tell about how things are done in Blue-state California. But the rocket tax is no joke.

Some glimmer of sanity has since arisen in the California state assembly, in the form of a proposed bill, AB1874, offered by State Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This bill would repeal the application of the transportation tax to space launches, and exempt all commercial space launch income from state taxes. The legislation makes sense. States like Texas and Florida have enacted tax incentives to attract all kinds of businesses, including commercial space companies. California cannot afford to start losing rocket launch companies as a result of its draconian tax policies. (2/1)

General Dynamics Unit Pushes Maine For $60M In Tax Credits (Source: Law360)
Representatives for a Maine shipyard company owned by General Dynamics pushed state lawmakers on Tuesday to support up to $60 million in a renewal of tax credits for shipbuilding facilities to help the company continue building ships for the U.S. Navy. (2/1)

Boeing Says GOP Tax Law Slashed $1B From Income Taxes (Source: Law360)
Boeing reported Wednesday that its income tax expense will be reduced by some $1.05 billion under the new GOP tax cut law passed by Congress in December. The $1.05 billion drop resulted from corporate tax rate reductions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97, the company said. Chicago-based Boeing said its effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2017 was minus 5.4 percent, compared with an effective tax rate of 22.4 percent for the same period in 2016. (2/1)

Boeing Outperforms Expectations in 2017 and Delivers Sunny Outlook for 2018 (Source: GeekWire)
The Boeing Co. today reported better-than-expected financial results for the fourth quarter of 2017 and a rosier-than-expected outlook for the year ahead, sending its share prices up 5 percent. Boeing’s commercial spaceflight program is “continuing to move smartly” through development, Muilenburg said. He noted that the first launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space taxi to the International Space Station is due to take place this year. (2/1)

Another Inspirational Reflective Space Sculpture Heading to Orbit (Source: 1843)
Later this year a rocket will take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base carrying an unusual cargo contained in a cubesat, a miniature satellite about the same size as a brick and normally used for scientific experiments. Once the rocket reaches an altitude of 575km, the brick will be jettisoned, will unfold and a small canister of carbon dioxide will inflate a work of art inside. The piece is called “Orbital Reflector” and comes in the form of a Mylar balloon about the length of a football field, the height of a person and the shape of a diamond. Once fully inflated, it will orbit the planet every 92 minutes, and will be visible from Earth as a bright star streaking across the sky. (2/1)

Space Resources Program Approved For Fall 2018 Launch at University in Colorado (Source: Colorado Space News)
A first-of-its-kind graduate program in space resources will officially lift off at Colorado School of Mines this fall. Post-baccalaureate certificates, master’s degrees and doctoral degrees will be offered through the unique interdisciplinary program, which aims to prepare scientists, engineers, economists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to responsibly explore, extract and use resources on the Moon, Mars, asteroids and beyond to fuel future space exploration, cislunar development, as well as needs back on Earth. (2/1)

SkyWatch Raises $4 Million in Seed Round for Earth Observation Platform (Source: SpaceQ)
SkyWatch today announced that it had raised $4 million in its seed round of funding to continue development of its Earth Observation platform EarthCache. SkyWatch has been developing what it calls an “aggregation and distribution platform for satellite data” since mid-2014 when it won the global NASA SpaceApps Challenge, beating out over 650 teams from around the globe in the Best Use of Data challenge. (2/1)

California Startup Plans Cubesat Business Line (Source: Space News)
Satellite component startup Akash Systems raised $3.1 million to create its own line of cubesats. San Francisco-based Akash sells amplifiers with patented integrated circuits made of gallium nitride on a synthetic diamond substrate. The company claims the technology enables smaller, more lightweight and energy-efficient satellite components that can be used for small telecom or Earth observation satellites. Rocket Lab and Skybox Imaging investor Khosla Ventures led Akash’s seed round. (1/31)

What It's Like to Pretend to Live on Mars for 8 Months (Source: Business Insider)
NASA runs fake space missions on Earth. These simulations — called analog missions — allow scientists to study what a long space mission would be like for the crew. Some analog missions study the use of specialized technology or the effects of zero gravity on the body, but others focus primarily on psychological effects.

The HI-SEAS mission, or Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation, takes place near the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii and is designed to simulate living on Mars. Crew members live in isolation for about 8 months and aren't allowed to stray further than a mile or two from their small, dome-shaped habitat. Scientists study the impact this has on the crew's mental and emotional state. Click here. (1/30)

The Real Reason Why NASA Created Makeup for Women Astronauts (Source: Racked)
NASA has been making flight kits since the first crews took to the stars. The standard kit held everything an astronaut would need for grooming, like razors, lotion, dental floss, and even Chapstick. Some items were nearly required: Shaving cream had to be used with razors to collect tiny hair that could escape and cause problems in the spacecraft. All items were tested beforehand for safety and flammability, then added to a list of approved items astronauts could pick from to customize their kit.

NASA had been testing women for rigorous spaceflight missions since the FLATS — the First Lady Astronaut Trainees — in the early 1960s. Because of the work of that early group of women, there was no question of whether the class of ’78 would be able to fly — their technical skills were not up for debate because of their gender, and they were treated the same as the male trainees — but having women in the space program came with a lot of other mysteries and mountains to be conquered. Click here. (1/31)

SpaceX Launches GovSat-1 Satellite, Clearing the Way for Falcon Heavy’s Debut (Source: GeekWire)
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent a telecommunications satellite into orbit today for Luxembourg’s government and the SES satellite venture, setting the stage for next week’s maiden launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The GovSat-1 spacecraft is the first component in a NATO satellite constellation that’s designed to provide secure communications for tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by humanitarian crises. It was built by Orbital ATK, with anti-jamming and encryption systems, and is meant exclusively for governmental and institutional security applications. (1/31)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Survived Experimental Landing in the Atlantic Ocean (Source: The Verge)
This afternoon, SpaceX launched its second Falcon 9 rocket of the year from Florida, but the company chose not to land the booster after takeoff and instead dispensed it in the ocean. In a weird twist, the Falcon 9 still managed to survive its fall into the deep sea waters and is bobbing intact in the Atlantic. Now, the company will try to salvage the floating rocket by towing it back to shore somehow, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

There wasn’t a drone ship in place to catch the Falcon 9’s fall, the rocket still went through all the steps of landing: it re-ignited its engines three times in a series of landing burns to lower itself down gently to Earth. In a tweet, Musk revealed that the rocket was actually testing out a very high powered landing technique with the rocket, and the company didn’t want to hurt the drone ship during the fall. It seems clear SpaceX did not expect the rocket to survive, but it now has to figure out how to bring the hardy vehicle back home. (1/31)

A Space Corps in the U.S. Military a ‘No Brainer,’ Says Former Astronaut (Source: Space News)
With 28 years of service in the U.S. Air Force and 16 years as a NASA astronaut, Terry Virts understands why the Pentagon has fought back proposals to create an independent military space corps. Virts now believes the momentum is shifting.

“It’s such a no brainer,” Virts told SpaceNews. “Space, air, cyber, those are truly different domains.” Space is becoming a battlefront in a broader competition among world powers, he said, making it more of an imperative to give space forces a bigger voice.

The military services should collaborate and share resources, Virts said, but each branch has a distinct mission that requires specialized training and equipment. “The bottom line is that you don’t want truck drivers driving boats. And you don’t want pilots flying spaceships. Would you want the Army approving aircraft carrier designs?” (1/31)

Spain’s Indra Teams Up with Balloon Operator and Launch Startup Zero2Infinity (Source: Space News)
Spanish IT company Indra will assist Barcelona-based Zero 2 Infinity in developing and promoting balloon-enabled systems for reaching the stratosphere and low Earth orbit.

The two Spanish companies announced today a collaborative agreement where Indra will leverage its international presence and experience developing satellite technology for Earth observation, telecommunications and ground control centers to further Zero 2 Infinity’s customer reach and technology development. Zero 2 Infinity, which has been operating high-altitude balloons since 2009, is developing Bloostar, a balloon-assisted launch system designed to lift 75 kilograms to low Earth orbit. (1/31)

SpaceX Gains FAA Launch Site Operator License (Source: Aviation Week)
As part of ongoing efforts to improve efficiency, SpaceX has been granted a five-year operators license from the FAA to launch communications satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, beginning with the planned Jan. 31 flight of GovSat 1. (1/31)

Does General Relativity Violate Determinism Inside Charged Black Holes? (Source: physicsworld.com)
Under certain extreme conditions Einstein’s general theory of relativity seems to violate determinism, according to an international team of physicists. The group has shown that in a universe expanding under the influence of the cosmological constant, black holes generated by the collapse of highly charged stars should contain a region where physical conditions are not fixed by the stars’ initial state. Click here. (1/29)

Stennis Already Tests Engines for Space flights. Should They Launch Flights, Too? (Source: McClatchy)
One-third of Hancock County is within the buffer zone that surrounds Stennis Space Center, a factor that could help Stennis International Airport get a license for commercial space flights and provide a boost to revenue and jobs for the area. Last week, Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission selected RS&H consulting firm, headquartered in Florida, to look at the feasibility of applying for a license to launch commercial flights from the airport. Click here. (1/16)

Bigelow Aerospace Ready to Step Up After Possible Space Station Defunding (Source: KVVU)
NASA may be forced to stop funding the International Space System by 2025. In 2016, Bigelow partnered with NASA to launch a prototype called BEAM, which stands for Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. But folks at Bigelow have even bigger plans. This is just a scale of their latest project: B-330, set to launch in 2021, just four years before the possible defunding of the ISS.

“Abandonment of the ISS without a commercial alternative would be absolutely foolish,” Bigelow said. So Bigelow has sent a proposal to NASA, saying the B-330 could save taxpayer money. “It would be on the order of billions that would be saved every year,” she said. Bigelow said they’re ready to step up and be at the forefront of the Last Frontier. “To us, it’s a no-brainer,” Bigelow said. “It’s superior technology. It’s something that we’ve been champions of for decades.” (1/26)

Spaceport America Dilemma: Privacy vs. Transparency (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
States that fund spaceports are faced with balancing the public’s right to know about operations at a publicly funded site with the privacy needs of companies in the commercial space race. “Companies if they have a choice are going to go where they’re protected,” Hicks said.

Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, is one of the sponsors of the legislation (SB 98), which is supported by Gov. Susana Martinez. The bill is scheduled to come before the Senate Public Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Under the bill, cyberinfrastructure and security information would be considered confidential and thereby exempt from the provisions of the state Inspection of Public Records Act. The same would be true of “customer information,” unless the customer notifies the New Mexico Space Authority that the records do not contain “sensitive, proprietary or confidential information.” (1/30)

Would London Survive the Impact of a Blue Whale Dropped from Space? (Source: Guardian)
This question has been bothering me for some time. If a whale (specifically, the Balaenoptera musculus or blue whale, at 180 tonnes) was dropped from space (the outer limit of the Earth’s atmosphere), what impact would it have on a city, compared to the Hoba meteorite in Namibia, which weighs 60 tonnes? Would, say, London survive the whale? Click here. (1/29)

Simple Math Shows How Many Space Aliens May Be Out There (Source: NBC)
We start with recent research showing that one in six stars hosts a planet hospitable to life. No, not one in a million. One in six. So let's take that number and run with it. Next we have to make a few assumptions. In particular, if you were given a million Earth-size worlds, what fraction do you think would ever beget technically sophisticated inhabitants?

Life on our planet began quickly: random chemical activity in 350 million trillion gallons of ocean water spawned a reproducing molecule within a few hundred million years. So maybe biology doesn't need much of a goad to get started. I don't think it's unreasonable to figure that at least half of all planets suitable for life actually produce it.

Intelligence is less certain. The dinosaurs were a good design but didn't do well in school. But let's say that one in 100 biology-encrusted planets eventually coughs up some thinking beings. And, as per Frank Drake, let's also assume that any Klingons out there continue to hang out for 10,000 years before self-destructing (nuclear war, anyone?) or meeting some other woeful end. Do the arithmetic, and you'll find that one in 100 million star systems has technically adept inhabitants. (1/26)

China To Launch Its First Privately Developed Rocket In June (Source: China Money Network)
OneSpace, a Beijing-based start-up developing commercial rockets, is set to launch its first rocket in June this year, which will be the first privately-manufactured rocket to be launched in China. The company plans to launch an eight-meter-long mini rocket, with a six-meter solid propellant rocket engine that can generate a thrust of 35 tonnes, according to state-owned media reports. (1/29)