April 13, 2018

Satellite Imaging - Petabytes of Developer, Business Opportunities (Source: TechZone 360)
Hollywood has programmed society into believing satellite imaging as a magic, all-seeing tool, but the real trick is in analysis. Numerous firms are filling the skies overhead with eyes, small, cost-effective satellites taking pictures of the earth's in visible light, multiple wavelengths of light, and radar. Massive amounts of data are being generated on a daily basis, needing to be processed, filtered, and analyzed.  Big Data, analytics, machine learning, AI,s APIs, and open source/open standards are all a part of the discussion.

Planet, formerly Planet Labs, is the poster child for the satellite imaging revolution. It owns and operations a fleet of over 200 satellites, ranging from over 140 bread box-size "Doves" to larger dorm fridge "SkySats." In November 2017, the company announced it collects over 6 terabytes per day from its satellites. Six terabytes. Per day.

Planet's daily take translates to a total of 1.4 million 29 megapixel images per day.  Do the math across 30 days. Three months. A year. It's a ton of data being generated by a single company.  Since starting in 2011, Planet says it has on average over 400 images per location on Earth -- and that was back in November 2017, so the numbers have gone upward. An open source philosophy is hard-wired in Planet, making it a boon for developers and companies who want to dive into its catalog. (4/12)

Space Math Heroes of 'Hidden Figures' Inspire Nat-Geo Drama Series (Source: Space.com)
National Geographic is in the early stages of development for a TV series inspired by 2016's "Hidden Figures," a new report from Variety said. According to "Variety," the TV project will be executive produced by Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping of Chernin Entertainment, who both executive produced the film, as well as National Geographic.

"Hidden Figures," based on the book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly (William Morrow, 2016), follows black women at what became NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia who computed the trajectories that propelled the United States' first satellites and spaceships into orbit. The movie focuses on Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji Henson) and the lead-up to the first American to orbit the Earth, in 1962. (4/11)

Branson Blogs on VO Progress (Source: Virgin)
It won’t be long until Virgin Orbit is taking small satellites into space and improving everyone’s access to data around the globe. Small satellites have huge potential to change people’s lives for the better. They connect us to each other, help us understand the world around us, keep us safe, grow the world’s economies, and expand the limits of human knowledge. In recent years, satellites have gotten smaller and cheaper but launching them can still be very costly. Enter Virgin Orbit. Like the satellites our customers are flying, our launch system is light, fast, flexible, and affordable. Click here. (4/11) https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/launching-small-satellite-revolution

ET Won't Phone Home: Psychologists Say SETI Has Faulty Alien Contact Methods (Source: Space Daily)
A group of psychologists say scientists will never make contact with aliens because aliens are likely to use communications based on unknown physical principles. They also say scientists are prone to so-called inattentional blindness.

A group of psychologists from the University of Cadiz in Spain has published an article criticizing alien-seeking scientists involved in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, saying they will never make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

The scientists involved in SETI are concentrating solely on searching for radio signals when aliens are likely to use other forms of communication, including those based on undiscovered physical principles. Therefore, humanity will not be able to recognize those signals. (4/12)

Vector Wants to Churn Out Rockets Like Ford Made Model Ts (Source: CNN)
Automakers around the globe produce millions of vehicles every year. The global rocket industry? It makes fewer than 100 per year that are capable of delivering satellites to orbit. But the way Jim Cantrell sees it, cars and rockets aren't all that different. And he wants his startup, Vector, to churn out rockets just as Ford churned out Model Ts.

Cantrell — who was an early member of Elon Musk's SpaceX team — just hired some top brass away from the auto industry to help meet those bold production goals. Brian Barron spent more than two decades at BMW helping to fine tune the company's assembly lines. Vector said Thursday that he's joined the company as its vice president of manufacturing. (4/12)

Background Hum of Space Could Reveal Hidden Black Holes (Source: Space Daily)
Deep space is not as silent as we have been led to believe. Every few minutes a pair of black holes smash into each other. These cataclysms release ripples in the fabric of spacetime known as gravitational waves. Now Monash University scientists have developed a way to listen in on these events.

The gravitational waves from black hole mergers imprint a distinctive whooping sound in the data collected by gravitational-wave detectors. The new technique is expected to reveal the presence of thousands of previously hidden black holes by teasing out their faint whoops from a sea of static. (4/13)

Pace Talks Space Warfare (Source: Space News)
Pace said Thursday that while space is no longer a sanctuary, he didn't believe war in space was inevitable. Pace said that activities by China and Russia have made space a warfighting domain, but that the U.S. should focus on deterrence to avoid conflict. He added that while he thought arms control accords for space were unlikely, transparency and confidence building measures could help prevent misperceptions that could lead to conflicts. (4/13)

NASA Seeking Russian Solution for Potential Commercial Crew Delays (Source: Space News)
NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot says the agency is in talks with Russia about potentially stretching out some space station missions to mitigate any future commercial crew development delays. Lightfoot said NASA is discussing the possibility of longer increments for ISS crews as one way to buy more time if needed for commercial crew development. NASA announced last week a contract modification with Boeing that could turn its crewed test flight into more of an operational mission as another means of dealing with development delays.

Lightfoot, testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee on NASA's 2019 budget proposal, also said it was reconsidering its schedule for future SLS missions now that it has funding to develop a second mobile launch platform. Those changes could include flying the first crewed Orion mission on a Block 1 SLS, rather than the larger Block 1B version as currently planned. (4/13)

Globalstar Investor Piles On (Source: Space News)
An investor in Globalstar believes the company is undervalued, and is willing to back that view to the tune of $150 million. Mudrick Capital Management, a New York-based investment firm that owns more than five percent of Globalstar's stock, sees the company as "deeply undervalued" in part because of its S-band spectrum that could become far more valuable in support of 5G networks. The firm is offering to lend the LEO satellite operator up to $150 million to address its capital needs through 2019. That financing, though, would come with strings attached, including creating a "committee of truly independent directors" to evaluate any future plans to raise capital. Globalstar has not responded to the offer. (4/13)

Orbital ATK Expects EELV Success (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Orbital ATK is confident that its proposed EELV-class launcher will win Air Force funding. In a recent interview, Mike Laidley, Orbital ATK's vice president for its Next Generation Launch program, said the company expects to win a Launch Services Agreement award from the Air Force later this year to fund development and testing of its proposed vehicle. The Air Force plans to select up to three companies for those awards, with Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance also competing for them. Orbital ATK is expected to announce developments regarding the vehicle next week at the 34th Space Symposium. (4/13)

Putin Expects Space Cooperation to Continue Despite New U.S. Sanctions (Source: Bloomberg)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn't expect a new round of sanctions to affect space cooperation with the U.S. Speaking on the 57th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight Thursday, Putin said Russia would not abandon international cooperation, including with the U.S. and other ISS partners. "We aren't going to break off anything here or leave these programs," he said. (4/13)

Apollo Astronaut Sues Jeweler, Watch Maker (Source: CollectSpace)
A judge ruled that a former astronaut can sue companies for producing a replica of a watch he wore on the moon. Apollo 15 astronaut David Scott sued Bulova and Kay Jewelers after they marketed a replica of a Bulova watch that Scott wore on one of his moonwalks. Scott auctioned that watch, a personal timepiece rather than a NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster, in 2015, and shortly thereafter the companies announced they were producing a replica of that watch.

Scott argued that the companies were violating his "right of publicity through commercial appropriation" by offering the watch without his permission. A judge rejected a motion by the companies to dismiss the case, but did throw out Scott's claims of emotional distress, concluding that "this evidence is a parsec away from describing distress that no reasonable person can be expected to endure." (4/13)

China Opens First Overseas Center for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System in Tunisia (Source: Space Daily)
The China-Arab States BDS/GNSS Center, the first overseas center for China's indigenous BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), was officially inaugurated in Tunisia. The center is established as a pilot project between China and the Tunisia-based Arab Information and Communication Technology Organization (AICTO), an Arab governmental organization under the Arab League, to promote the global application of the BDS, said Ran Chengqi, director of China Satellite Navigation Office. (4/13)

Fly Over the Moon in New 4K NASA Animation (Source: Mashable)
NASA wants to fly you to the moon in 4K. The space agency just released a new video showing off high-resolution imagery gathered by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, tasked with exploring the moon from above. The five-minute video shows off various sites on the near and the far side of the moon. "The tour visits a number of interesting sites chosen to illustrate a variety of lunar terrain features," NASA said in a video description. Click here. (4/11) 

Boeing CEO Takes Playful Jab at Musk’s Rocket-Launched Tesla (Source: Seattle Times)
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg highlighted the company’s deep roots in space exploration with a playful jab at up-and-comer Elon Musk. The aerospace titan doesn’t plan to launch cars into the heavens anytime soon, Muilenburg said at a Politico Space Forum. But “we might pick up the one out there and bring it back,” he said.

It was an apparent dig at the cherry-red Tesla Roadster, with a mannequin astronaut behind the wheel, that Musk launched into space on the first flight of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket in early February.

The budding rivalry between the companies is anything but playful, however. Musk’s SpaceX is remaking rocketry by undercutting established rivals such as United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin venture, with low prices and reusable rocket boosters that tamp down costs. Musk has also outlined an audacious agenda for colonizing Mars, stoking Muilenburg’s competitive fire over who would build the first rocket to reach the planet. (4/12)

LEGO Produces Animation of Yuri Gagarin's Historic Flight (Source: Reddit)
Check out this LEGO animation of Vostok 1, Yuri Gagarin's orbital flight 57 years ago. Click here. (4/12)

SpaceX Will Soon Be the Third Most Valuable Private Tech Company in the United States (Source: Quartz)
Elon Musk’s bet on the future of space transportation is set to be the third-biggest private tech company in the US, behind only Uber and Airbnb, and worth more than $27 billion.

SpaceX filed paperwork in Delaware to raise an additional $500 million in capital, according to Equidate, a stock market for private technology companies that tracks such filings. Once the fundraising round is completed, the company’s value will have increased by approximately 25% in the last nine months, according to Equidate COO Hari Raghavan. It has more than doubled since 2015.

It’s not clear yet which investors will provide the cash, but the company has preferred to retain old investors than add new ones. Fidelity is rumored to be leading the round, and Musk is supposedly set to put up more equity in the company he founded out of his own pocket in 2002. (4/13)