March 29, 2018

Blue Origin Switches Engines for New Glenn Upper Stages (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin quietly changed the design of its New Glenn rocket around the beginning of the year in order to hold to a 2020 first launch and increase the range of orbital missions the rocket can complete. Although the company’s website still shows New Glenn with a second stage powered by a reignitable version of the BE-4 it is developing to power the main stage of both New Glenn and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, that configuration is now out of date.

A Blue Origin executive told SpaceNews the company is shelving development of a vacuum-optimized version of BE-4 and will instead use vacuum-optimized versions of flight-proven BE-3 engines for New Glenn’s second stage and optional third stage. (3/29)

South Korea to Invest $566 Million in Space Programs (Source: Yonhap)
South Korea's government will inject US$566 million to develop technology for space exploration in 2018, down 9.3 percent from a year earlier. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced this year's budget after adjusting its long-term roadmap, including plans to send an unmanned spaceship to the moon. Under the new plan, the government will postpone the production of a nuclear-powered battery cell necessary for the lunar project from 2020 to 2022.

"The reason for the decreased budget is that this year's budget for the lunar project was not reflected due to the postponement," a ministry official said. Of the total, 315.2 billion won has been allocated for the development of a new multipurpose satellite built entirely with local technology, with another 200.24 billion won for developing a homegrown rocket. The government will also spend 56.4 billion won this year for various lunar exploration projects. (3/28)

Asteroids to Serve as Fueling Stations for Space Exploration (Source: Financial Times)
Many asteroids are rich in minerals, metals and water, making them potential life support systems for humans venturing deep into the solar system. “Asteroids contain all the materials necessary to enable human activity,” says Peter Stibrany, chief business developer and strategist of California-based Deep Space Industries (DSI). “Just those near Earth could sustain more than 10bn people.”  

Moreover, their relatively small mass means their gravitational field is weak, so in this respect, at least, they are much easier than larger bodies such as the moon to land on and leave, he argues. Harnessing the resources of asteroids, says Mr Stibrany, would mean that people could eventually live, settle and work in space without having to take everything they needed from Earth. Click here. (3/29) 

Asian Powers Step Up Their Readiness For Space Warfare, Following America's Lead (Source: Forbes)
As Asian societies step up and out into space, American thinking, actions, and leadership stand to profoundly affect the security and stability of their ventures. Today, there is renewed interest in the idea of creating an American space force -- a dedicated military service for warfare. According to recent comments, America may soon develop its own space warfare capabilities, as space is becoming a “war-fighting domain.”

The U.S. National Security Strategy in December 2017 identified unfettered access to space, as well as freedom in space operations, as vital to American interests. Harmful interference or an attack on critical components of its space architecture would, America made clear, be deliberately met with a cross-domain response at some point, place, and manner of its choosing. The same themes were echoed in the America First National Space Strategy, announced by the White House in March 2018.

Setting aside difficult issues of determining attribution and attack, here is the more important point from the perspective of Asian space realities to come: What the United States does and says still resonates deeply in Asia, home to some of the most ambitious military space powers around.  It matters in the region that the unclassified 2019 request for the U.S. national security space budget is $12.4 billion, with the bulk of it going to the Air Force. (3/29)

UAE's Space Program Races Ahead (Source: Gulf News)
The deadline looms and the preparations are in top order. The UAE Astronaut Program is in full swing and the workshop held this week to inspire and educate potential candidates is a precursor to the exciting roll-out of programs that will culminate in the UAE taking a giant leap into the space field.

The enthusiasm and passion for taking the country forward is evidenced by the rush of applications for the astronaut program — more than 3,000 Emiratis have applied to make it to the first batch of astronauts. The journey from December 3, 2017, when the hunt for the first batch was announced, to 2021, by when the first four Emirati astronauts will take their places on the International Space Station, will enter the annals of UAE’s evolution as a period of remarkable expansion of national goals and international presence.

The workshop showcased the keenness and far-reaching ambitions of Emiratis to participate in this endeavour, which are in perfect synergy with the national vision. It also highlighted the fruits of the government’s efforts in empowering women, as demonstrated by the many instances of Emirati women expressing an unbounded ambition to become astronauts and take their country to greater heights. (3/28)

Russia Delays Launch of New ISS Module (Source: Interfax)
Russia has delayed a new space station module until some time next year. An industry source said the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also known as Nauka, won't launch until 2019 because repairs to its fuel system are taking longer than expected. The launch of the Spektr-RG high-energy astronomy spacecraft is also expected to slip to next year. (3/29)

Astronaut, Executive, Engineer Inducted Into Colorado Space Hall of Fame (Source: Colorado Springs Gazette)
A late Apollo astronaut, an aerospace executive and an engineer have joined the Colorado Space Hall of Fame. At a ceremony Wednesday, the Space Foundation formally inducted into the hall the late James Irwin, who flew to the moon on Apollo 15. Also joining the hall are former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine and Merri Sanchez, a former NASA engineer who served as chief science and technical adviser for Air Force Space Command. (3/29)

India Launches Satellite on GSLV Rocket (Source: Business Standard)
An Indian rocket successfully launched a communications satellite this morning. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark 2 rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at 7:26 a.m. Eastern and released the GSAT-6A satellite into its planned transfer orbit nearly 18 minutes later. GSAT-6A, weighing about 2,150 kilograms, will operate from 83 degrees east in GEO providing S-band communications services. (3/29)

China's Falling Satellite is Just One Example of a Massive Space Debris Problem (Source: Washington Post)
While the threat of the debris hitting a human is extremely small, the visual drama that might unfold over Europe’s skies this weekend may only be a first glimpse into a growing problem that will manifest itself over the next decades, according to some bleak predictions.

The European Space Agency estimates that there are now more than 170 million pieces of space debris in circulation, though only 29,000 of those are larger than about four inches. While such smaller space debris objects may not pose a threat to Earth because they would disintegrate before reaching the surface, “any of these objects can cause harm to an operational spacecraft.

For example, a collision with a (four-inch) object would entail a catastrophic fragmentation of a typical satellite,” according to the European Space Agency. Smaller pieces could still destroy spacecraft systems or penetrate shields, possibly making bigger satellites such as Tiangong-1 unresponsive and turning them into massive pieces of space debris themselves. (3/29)

Orbital ATK Looking to Soar Past SpaceX (Source: ABC15 Arizona)
While SpaceX soaks up the flashy headlines, Orbital ATK works a bit more behind the scenes on serious space stuff. "The majority of it is need to know. It's not something we can sit there and advertise for good reason." Orbital ATK is the company behind our country's missile defense system. If, for example, North Korea launches a nuke our way it's Orbital ATK's missile tech that will try to shoot it down.

"We only get one opportunity to make it work right, and it needs to work when we do use it," said Kevin Wilder, Orbital ATK rocket scientist and program manager for the company's heavy launch vehicle system currently in development.

Elon Musk and SpaceX were the first private company to launch a heavy rocket. But Orbital ATK isn't far behind. The company's $200 million, 210-foot heavy rocket will carry more than fancy cars. "It's really being utilized to handle payloads that will be used for the Air Force," Warne said. Exactly what those payloads will be, that's top secret. Orbital ATK said the space business in Arizona is doing so well they're expanding. The company is hiring some 200 top-level aerospace jobs and expanding into a brand new campus. (3/28)

Florida Companies Win Air Force Launch Support Work at Florida and California Spaceports (Source: DOD)
Space Coast Launch Services (SCLS), and Call Henry Inc. (CHI) of Titusville have been awarded contract modifications from the Air Force's 45th and 30th Space Wings. SCLS will receive $8.3 million for operations & maintenance (O&M) and engineering support to launch, spacecraft, and ordnance facilities at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. CHI will receive $10 million for similar work at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (3/26)

Dark Matter Missing in Oddball Galaxy (Source: Astronomy)
Galaxies and dark matter go together like peanut butter and jelly. You typically don't find one without the other. Therefore, researchers were surprised when they uncovered a galaxy that is missing most, if not all, of its dark matter. An invisible substance, dark matter is the underlying scaffolding upon which galaxies are built. It's the glue that holds the visible matter in galaxies - stars and gas - together.

This large, fuzzy-looking galaxy is so diffuse that astronomers call it a "see-through" galaxy because they can clearly see distant galaxies behind it. The ghostly object, catalogued as NGC 1052-DF2, doesn't have a noticeable central region, or even spiral arms and a disk, typical features of a spiral galaxy. But it doesn't look like an elliptical galaxy, either. (3/27)

Brexit Fallout: EU Threatening to Kick UK Out of Galileo Program (Source: Daily Mail)
heresa May is locked in a bitter row with the EU over their bid to evict Britain out of Europe's multi-billion pound Galileo satellite program after Brexit. The UK has a lucrative space industry and there are fears that hundreds of millions of pounds could be put at risk if the threat is implemented.

Galileo is the EU's rival to the American GPS system and is used by the British military to navigate. But the EU is now say that allowing  Britain to stay logged onto the system would mean sharing confidential information which they do not want to leave the bloc. Their hard line approach has sparked outrage in Westminster as Mrs May has pledged 'unconditional' security co-operation after Brexit. (3/26)

Here's What It's Really Like To Go To Space Camp (Source: Bustle)
If you're a child of the '90s, it's likely either you or someone you know at one point wanted to go to Space Camp. The idea of Space Camp, in which attendees would wear a spacesuit, eat freeze-dried ice cream, and pretend to go to the moon for a full weekend, was so cool to kids that it was constantly offered as a grand prize on '90s game shows.

So you can imagine how I felt when an email appeared in my inbox back in October with the subject line, "Can you join Nat Geo at SPACECAMP!?" Instantly, this 27-year-old was transported back in time to when I was 10, and obviously, my answer was a resounding, "Yes!!" Click here. (3/26)

Boeing HorizonX Joins $15M Funding Round for Australia’s Myriota IoT Satellite Venture (Source: GeekWire)
Boeing’s HorizonX venture capital arm has made its first investment outside the U.S., as part of a $15 million Series A funding round for an Australian satellite-based IoT startup called Myriota. Myriota makes use of low-power micro-transmitters to connect with a constellation of nanosatellites that’s operated in league with Canada-based exactEarth, and send snippets of data from remote sensors to a cloud-based processing platform.

The system could let farmers know how full their water tanks are, for example, or monitor personal “black-box recorders” worn by soldiers on the battlefield. Myriota says its system fills a need that’s likely to become more urgent in the years ahead, due to the proliferation of connected devices known collectively as the Internet of Things, or IoT. (3/26)

The Shocking Ways Space Travel Wrecks the Human Body (Source: New York Post)
There are many good reasons to contemplate leaving Earth. Global warming. The threat of nuclear war. The promise of a sequel to “Justice League.” But surviving out in space is no picnic either. The inhospitable environment — with its zero gravity and lack of a protective atmosphere — can wreak havoc on the human body. Click here. (3/16)

Gone in a Flash: Supernova Burns Up in Just 25 Days (Source: Cosmos)
Astronomers have witnessed a blazing supernova explosion that faded away 10 times faster than expected. A supernova is the violent death of a massive star, typically occurring when it exhausts its fuel supply and collapses under its own weight, generating a powerful shockwave that blasts light and material out into space.

Supernovae often blaze so brightly that they briefly outshine all the other stars in their host galaxy. They show off for months on end — in 1054, a supernova could be seen during the day for three weeks and only disappeared completely after two years. Its remnants are known as the Crab Nebula. Now an international team of astronomers has observed a supernova that rapidly soared to its peak brightness in 2.2 days then faded away in just 25. (3/27)