March 24, 2018

Hurdles in Pakistan’s Quest for Reaching Space (Source: Modern Diplomacy)
Space exploration is an expensive national objective for Pakistan to pursue. In addition, if a state is a developing country facing much pressing traditional and non-traditional threats, space exploration has a tendency to end up an optional objective. Every state has a right to prioritize which ever national objective it wants to achieve first. When it has issues like poverty, corruption, unemployment and terrorism etc. at hand, aiming for the space becomes a herculean task. Same happened in case of Pakistan.

However, a question arises that in the age of globalization, telecommunication and information technology is it plausible for a state to achieve its national objectives without investing into space technology? Space technology is becoming an essential as dependency on modern technology is increasing. Developing state cannot stand with developed nations of the world without investing into space technology. (3/22)

Laser System Proposed to Deorbit Satellites (Source: ABC)
An Australian company says it has developed a laser system that can deorbit debris. EOS Space Systems says it has developed a laser system that can be used to track orbital debris and, at higher power, nudge their orbits to speed up their reentry. The company didn't disclose how much such a system would cost or who would fund it, as well as the policy implications of firing lasers at space objects. (3/23)

Falcon 9 Punched Hole in Ionosphere (Source: Ars Technica)
A Falcon 9 launch last year created a large temporary hole in the ionosphere. Space scientists said the unusual trajectory of the Formosat 5 launch last August, in which the rocket went straight up much longer than usual, crated shockwaves in the ionosphere and a hole 900 kilometers across that lasted for a few hours. That also resulted in minor GPS errors, but much smaller than existing natural factors. (3/23)

House Science Committee Passes Space Support Vehicle Bill (Source: Space News)
The House Science Committee passed a bill last week to resolve a commercial space regulatory issue. H.R. 5346, the Commercial Space Support Vehicle Act, deals with what are known as “space support vehicles,” which are aircraft that serve as either part of launch systems or provide spaceflight training or other research activities. They include aircraft such as F-104 jets operated by Starfighters Aerospace, Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo, and Stratolaunch’s giant aircraft under development, which are intended to serve as air-launch platforms and vehicles for training and research.

Under the bill, the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation would have the ability to issue licenses and experimental permits for such vehicles, effective at the beginning of March 2019. Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) sponsored the bill, noting a report by the GAO in November 2016 that examined the issue of space support vehicles and their regulatory requirements. He cited the use of F-104 aircraft for training; Starfighters Aerospace operates out of the Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, in his district. Virgin Galactic also submitted for the record a letter of support for the bill. (3/23)

Omnibus Bill Extends FAA Authorization, Provides $18 Billion (Source AIN)
The Omnibus spending bill signed by President Trump includes an $18 billion budget for the FAA in Fiscal Year 2018 and a six-month extension of the agency’s authorization. The FAA authorization extension, which runs through September 30, was included shortly before the FAA’s authorization is set to expire at the end of March. Congress opted to provide additional time to hash out differences on multi-year House and Senate FAA reauthorization bills.

But the key sticking point, the future of the air traffic control system, has been settled, at least for now, with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) dropping his push for an independent user-funded ATC organization. The government-wide omnibus bill funds the FAA through the remainder of FY2018. The FAA, like most of the federal government, had been operating under a series of stop-gap budget extensions that kept funding flat. But with the full appropriations bill, the FAA is to receive nearly a $1.5 billion boost in this year’s budget. (3/22)

Saalex Engineer Honored on National Range Complex Range Team of the Year (Source: Saalex)
Government/Saalex Telemetry Ground Systems Engineering Team was named Range Team of the Year by the National Range Complex for the FY 2017. The team, consisting of seven engineers, two specialists and one operations lead, includes Saalex employee, Joel Bossoletti, representing the company as Project Engineer.

Once a year, the NRC, AIR 5.2 honors a team for their contribution towards meeting the National Range Complex mission and goals. The selection for this award is based on three critical areas: customer focus, mission execution and mission support. The Telemetry Ground Systems Engineering Team exceeded in all of these areas by performing excellent technical engineering with customer-focused operations for their Pacific Missile Sea Range (PMSR) customer. (3/23)