May 12, 2018

Space Data Association to Use Space Debris Data From High Earth Orbit Cubesats (Source: SpaceTech Asia)
Today, Sydney-based startup High Earth Orbit Robotics (HEO) announced that the Space Data Association (SDA) has signed a Letter of Intent to use data gathered from HEO’s planned nanosatellites. Under the agreement, SDA, an organization whose members include some of the world’s largest satellite operators, will use HEO data to assist in warning spacecraft in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) about space debris.

According to HEO, the company will use a family of nanosatellites it is currently designing, known as HERO-1, to track space debris in GEO. Each unit of HERO-1, a 6U space telescope, will be placed in a supersynchronous orbit 500km above GEO, in High Earth Orbit. The spacecraft will use a snapshot hyperspectral camera and telescope to captures high quality spectral data, making it able to track geostationary space debris during the data and in all weather conditions. (5/10)

Shrimp, Soybeans, and Tomatoes Top the Menu in Cities in Space (Source: NSS)
“What does a dinner menu look like in space?” asks Bryce Meyer, Founder and CEO of Cyan React LLC. “How about beer and burritos? Bloody Marys and fish tacos? Pho? Bread? Donuts? Fried Shrimp? Horchata? Yes, given the right space farm, all these are possible!” Then, says Meyer, there are supersized melons, berries, and low-gravity wine, and coffee. Coffee with its flavor tweaked by controlling carbon dioxide and light.

At the National Space Society’s annual International Space Development Conference® in Los Angeles at 11:30 am on May 24, Meyer, who is also an aerospace engineer, will reveal the menu items with which space farms will feed cities in space. Cities in space? Yes, from giant colonies hanging in the sky to Elon Musk’s goal of cities on Mars. Those cities will be fed by space farms. (5/10)

Is SETI Getting NASA Funding? Don’t Get Too Excited Yet (Source: Fast Company)
For the first time in 25 years, Congress may earmark funds for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). NASA launched SETI in 1992, building two massive radio telescopes—one in Puerto Rico, the other in California—with the mission to comb the universe looking for signs of life, or at least technology. Just a year later, though, the project was pulled by Nevada Sen. Richard Bryan, and the SETI Institute hasn’t received NASA funding since.

That could all change, though, thanks to a new bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives. The current budget authorization bill includes a recommendation that NASA spend $10 million over the next two years on a “search for technosignatures, such as radio transmissions, in order to meet the NASA objective to search for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe.” (5/11)

Northwest Florida Energy Company Among Semifinalists in NASA Competition (Source: NASA)
NASA iTech today announced the selection of 25 of the most promising ideas submitted by innovators across the U.S. as semifinalists in the 2018 NASA iTech Cycle II-Energy. NASA iTech is an initiative by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) to find innovative ideas that address important problems here on Earth and also hold great potential to overcome critical technology hurdles in future space exploration.
 
NASA has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA-E) on this unique iTech competition to identify transformational technologies to improve how energy is generated, distributed and stored to the benefit of both space exploration and life on Earth. Among the 25 semifinalists is Ion Power Group from Navarre Florida, for their project titled: "Nanomaterial Breakthrough Generates Electricity Day & Night on Earth & Mars." Click here. (5/10)

Florida Senator Seeks to Restore NASA Carbon Monitoring Program (Source: Sen. Bill Nelson)
With hurricane season right around the corner, the White House has quietly cancelled NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System program that provides the data researchers use to better predict climate-related events. I am calling on Congress to restore funding for this important program. Click here. (5/11)

As SLS’s Block 1 Design Matures, its Capabilities Come Into Clearer Focus (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
NASA has been touting its Space Launch System (SLS) as the “most powerful rocket ever built” since its inception, and initially listed its payload capability to low-Earth orbit (LEO) as 154,324 pounds (70 metric tons). Though less than what the Saturn V could launch when it was active, it was a significant increase over the Space Transportation System’s – better known as the Space Shuttle – 60,600 pounds (27.5 metric tons) offered.

Indeed, when SLS began its development, United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV Heavy was the most capable launcher in the U.S. fleet, with a 63,470 pound (28.79 metric ton) capability to LEO. Therefore, with an ability to loft more than twice the payload of its closest stablemate, SLS would clearly meet the agency’s need for a vehicle capable of supporting deep-space human exploration. (5/10)

Space Coast Group Names Matrix Composites Small Manufacturer of the Year (Source: Matrix)
At the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast’s (EDC) 5th Annual Made In Brevard Expo, Matrix Composites, Inc. was awarded with the 2018 Small Manufacturer of the Year Award. The award recognizes a Brevard County manufacturer that in the past 24 months has made or announce a significant investment in Brevard County through job creation and/or retention, new capital investment, and new construction.

Headquartered in Rockledge Florida, Matrix Composites has been working over the past several years to diversify their customer base, and recently increased its operations from 29,000 to 42,000 square feet. This expansion includes facilities and machinery required to manufacture high volume composite structures for multiple aerospace customers. (5/10)