March 9, 2018

Colorado Airport Submits Spaceport Application to FAA (Source: Denver Post)
A Denver-area airport has submitted its spaceport license application to the FAA. Front Range Airport, aka Spaceport Colorado, said its application is now under review by the FAA with a decision due by mid-August. The general aviation airport, located not far from Denver International Airport, hopes to host suborbital vehicles that take off and land horizontally, including future point-to-point transportation. No companies actively developing such vehicles have yet committed to using the airport if it receives an FAA spaceport license. (3/9)

Another Reason to Accelerate Shiloh (Source: SPACErePORT)
During the 45th Space Congress at Cape Canaveral last week, a discussion of the increased launch cadence at the Eastern Range included comments that might put more urgency on developing the Shiloh launch complex proposed by Space Florida. The safety zones around the Cape's launch and landing pads sometimes overlap or impact other nearby operations, depending on the version of the rocket being launched, wind direction, time of day, and other factors. This can sometimes require the temporary evacuation of nearby facilities, impacting productivity.

These occurrences are kind of rare, but increasing the number of launches at the Cape will likely worsen the situation. Shiloh is located far enough from other facilities that this will probably not be a problem. (3/9)

Vector Announces Payloads for Maiden Orbital Launch (Source: Vector)
Vector says it will carry two picosatellites from a British company on its first orbital launch. Vector said it will carry two PocketQube satellites, a smaller version of the standard cubesat, built by Alba Orbital on its first launch. That launch is scheduled for later this year from Alaska. (3/9)

China to Build Space-Based X-Ray Astronomy Satellite (Source: Physics World)
China is planning to develop an advanced X-ray astronomy observatory for launch in the 2020s. The enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) spacecraft will support studies of black holes and neutron stars. At an estimated cost of $475 million, eXTP will be the most expensive Chinese space science mission to date, although Chinese scientists involved with mission expect that European partners will cover about a third of the cost through in-kind contributions. (3/9)

US Military Seeks Allies in Space (Source: Space News)
The head of U.S. Strategic Command wants more allies to join the U.S. in military space operations. Air Force Gen. John Hyten said at a House hearing this week that the U.S. can partner with other countries in a variety of ways, from cost-sharing agreements to hosting U.S. national security payloads on foreign satellites. Hyten said that the Combined Space Operations Center, intended to serve as a "centralized hub for operational planning and tasking" for space activities, should be operational by the end of the year. (3/9)

Maxar Puts Hope in U.S. and Canadian Government Business to Falling Revenues (Source: Bloomberg)
The head of Maxar Technologies is hoping both U.S. and Canadian government initiatives will boost its bottom line. Shares in Maxar have fallen 20 percent since January, the biggest decline of any company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, in part due to declining revenues from its commercial satellite manufacturing business. CEO Howard Lance said he hopes U.S. government projects, enabled by lower launch costs, will provide new business for Maxar. He added that the company remains "an iconic long-term committed player in Canada" as well. Editor's Note: I wonder what kind of financial incentives were provided to convince Maxar to relocate to Colorado. (3/8)

Trump Touts Space Advancements During Cabinet Meeting (Source: WESH)
President Trump brought up the Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Mars, Elon Musk and rocket booster landings while touting the United States' advancements in space during a cabinet meeting on Thursday. Trump said watching SpaceX land its rocket boosters was "more amazing than watching the rocket go up." Trump added that the United States would be “sending something very beautiful to Mars in the very near future.” (3/8)

Congress Debates Exploration Versus Science at NASA (Source: Space News)
Members of the House space subcommittee raised questions about the balance of exploration versus other NASA programs at a budget hearing Wednesday. Some members said they were concerned exploration might be "overweighted" in the proposed FY-2019 budget versus science and technology programs, and raised questions about the WFIRST space telescope slated for cancellation and plans to move space technology activities into exploration. Members also asked why NASA was not seeking funding for a second mobile launch platform for the SLS, as well as noting the lack of details about the agency's plans to transition the ISS and low Earth orbit activities to the commercial sector by 2025. (3/7)

House Criticizes Senate for Inaction on NASA Administrator Confirmation (Source: Space News)
Members also used the NASA budget hearing to criticize the Senate for not confirming the nominee to be NASA administrator. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), a member of the space subcommittee, was nominated to be administrator last September, but the full Senate has not moved to confirm him, and there's widespread belief that Bridenstine lacks the minimum of 50 votes needed to be confirmed. One committee member complained that a few "bullheaded" senators were blocking the nomination. Members, though, praised Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot for his work leading the agency on an interim basis, and Lightfoot said his status has not prevented him from working with the administration as needed. (3/7)

China Developing New Crewed Spacecraft for Moon and Deep Space Missions (Source: GB Times)
China is developing a new generation of spacecraft for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon and deep space exploration. The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) is undertaking early work on two versions of the next-gen spacecraft, which will be a successor to the Shenzhou crewed craft. While China's 8-tonne Shenzhou can carry three astronauts to low Earth orbit, the new generation crewed spacecraft will come in two versions: 14 tonnes for trips to the space station, near Earth asteroids and Mars, and 20 tonnes for lunar landings.

The spacecraft, adaptable to two different propulsion systems, will be able to hold 4-6 astronauts. Zhang adds that the design will be modularized, allowing adaptation to various mission requirements. The Chinese new generation crewed spacecraft will also used a skip reentry rather than ballistic reentry, to reduce the forces experienced by astronauts aboard. NASA's Apollo missions and Soviet Union's Zond craft also used skip or boost-glide trajectories. (3/9)

Russia's Space Ties to China Could Supercede NASA-Led Cooperation (Source: Popular Mechanics)
Russia's interest in cooperating with China in space might lead it to turn its back on the West. Sources say the Russian space agency Roscosmos has developed plans to cooperate with China's space station under development, as well as potential future joint human lunar missions, in lieu of participating in NASA-led exploration efforts. The two countries also signed an agreement last week to study joint robotic lunar missions. The report, though, cautions that the discussions are "in very early stages and might not result in any actual change in policy." (3/7)

Rocket Lab Moves Toward First Operational Mission (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Rocket Lab is lining up payloads for its first operational launch. In an interview, company CEO Peter Beck said the next launch of its Electron rocket will be a "full commercial flight" after the success of its previous launch, a test flight, in January. The company hasn't disclosed the payloads that will fly on that launch, or set a specific launch date. The following launch, though, will be a NASA mission through the Venture Class Launch Services contract it won from the agency. (3/7)

Does a Quantum Equation Govern Some of the Universe's Large Structures? (Source: Scientific American)
Researchers who want to predict the behavior of systems governed by quantum mechanics—an electron in an atom, say, or a photon of light traveling through space—typically turn to the Schrödinger equation. Devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1925, it describes subatomic particles and how they may display wavelike properties such as interference. It contains the essence of all that appears strange and counterintuitive about the quantum world.

But it seems the Schrödinger equation is not confined to that realm. Planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin of the California Institute of Technology claims this equation can also be used to understand the emergence and behavior of self-gravitating astrophysical disks. That is, objects such as the rings of the worlds Saturn and Uranus or the halos of dust and gas that surround young stars. Click here. (3/8)

DARPA Requests Quarter Billion for Space Development Programs (Source: Parabolic Arc)
DARPA has requested $254.67 million to fund a variety of space programs for FY 2019. The total includes funds for work on an experimental space plane, a responsive launch competition, and robotic on-orbit servicing of satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Click here. (3/9)

NASA Awards $96 Million to U.S. Small Businesses for Tech Research, Development (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA has selected 128 proposals from American small businesses to advance research and technology in Phase II of its 2017 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. These selections support NASA’s future space exploration missions, while also benefiting the U.S. economy. The selected proposals will support the development of technologies in the areas of aeronautics, human space exploration and operations, science and space technology.

Two of the projects are Florida-based, both by Interdisciplinary Consulting Corp. of Gainesville. One focuses on High Channel Count, High Density Microphone Arrays for Wind Tunnel Environments, and the other on Fast Response, Fiber-Optic Micromachined Five-Hole Probe for Three-Dimensional Flow Measurements in Harsh Environments. (3/8)

Space Plan to Create up to 10k Jobs for Cornwall (Source: Pirate FM)
A space action plan is aiming to create up to 10 thousand jobs for Cornwall. The biggest satellite dish at Goonhilly is getting an upgrade, to help the UK to communicate with Mars and the moon. Newquay Airport has been earmarked as a site for Britain's first spaceport and a decision is due in the next few weeks.

The Local Enterprise Partnership is behind the strategy, targeting what it calls 1,000 new upstream jobs by 2025. That is posts in industries like manufacturing and engineering and the LEP's goal is to double that number by 2030. On top of that, it thinks an extra 8,000 downstream roles could be created, using space-derived data to create new products and services. (3/7)

First Costa Rican Satellite will be Launched April 2 (Source: Costa Rica Star)
Costa Rica will launch on April 2 its first satellite to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S.A. This initiative known as Irazu Project (Space Technology for the Monitoring of Climate Change), is the result of the work of the Central American Association of Aeronautics and Space )CAAE for its Spanish acronym) and the Costa Rica Technology Institute (ITCR) with the support of several sponsoring companies, the government and donations received through kickstarter, the satellite was designed to help with different environmental investigations. (3/7)

Urthecast Struggles with Financing, Lays Off Some Staff (Source: SpaceQ)
UrtheCast today provided and update on their efforts to close the financing needed for their UrtheDaily Constellation. The hold-up is the need to raise the last $25 million of subordinated capital or equity financing. The company also announced that founder and president/CEO Wade Larson “will be stepping down as CEO and director and moving into a new role as a special advisor to the Board focused on the strategic business development of the Company’s innovative SAR technology.”

The cash crunch is also in part due to a contract the company had expected to be renewed by now with the European Space Agency that was being serviced by its subsidiary Deimos Imaging. That contract had to be re-tendered. With the cash balance being low, SpaceQ has learned that in the last month UrtheCast gave notice to several of its staff that they were being let go. (3/9)