July 3, 2018

Group Launches Petition to Save America’s Space Program From SLS, Orion, LOP-G (Source: SDSC)
Three NASA programs are killing America’s human space exploration program: a rocket called the Space Launch System, a space capsule called Orion, and a new mini-space station with a macro price, The LOP-G. These programs are bleeding $36 billion from NASA’s budget, money we could use to land on the moon to stay. Funds we need to begin the colonization of Mars.
 
The Space Development Steering Committee is launching an online petition on change.org to stop the Space Launch System, the Orion capsule, and the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. The petition’s goal: to save America’s space program. To save it so that Americans are the first to set up housekeeping on the Moon and the first to build a village on Mars. Click here for more information and to sign the petition. (7/2) 

Commercial Spaceports Still Waiting for Liftoff (Source: Pew)
Last summer, a slim red-and-black rocket blasted off from a vacant industrial site in swampy south Georgia. The rocket was 40 feet tall, about a tenth of the size of the rockets that sent the first astronauts to the moon, but it represents an increasingly important part of the space industry: rockets designed to take small satellites into orbit. If local officials have their way, the August test flight will be the first of many launches at the Camden County facility. Local leaders are seeking federal permission to develop a commercial spaceport there, a project they hope will attract space-related jobs to the largely rural area.

“The spaceport’s the catalyst,” said County Administrator Steve Howard, who’s in charge of the project. He envisions a research park set up near the launch and landing sites, complete with services for small businesses and startups. But turning an old industrial site or sleepy local airport into a space industry hub is easier said than done. Industry experts question the need for new launch sites, pointing out that most existing spaceports aren’t all that busy. “It’s a little bit of a chicken-or-egg scenario,” said Carolyn Belle, a senior analyst for Northern Sky Research, a market research firm that focuses on the space industry. Many companies are looking for a launch site but haven’t yet developed a final product to launch, she said.

State and local leaders in Florida, Texas and New Mexico also have established licensed launch sites in the past decade. Adams County, Colorado, is also going through the federal application process. Spaceport backers say creating facilities now will position them for a profitable future. The commercial space industry is worth $345 billion globally, mostly driven by satellite services such as television, imaging and radio. The sector is set to grow as companies develop cheaper rockets and spacecraft for sending tourists past the edges of the atmosphere and, perhaps, eventually to Mars. (6/28)

Gateway Foundation Spaceport Envisions Large Scale Space Construction (Source: Next Big Future)
Orbital Assembly and the Gateway Foundation are working on a reasonable set of plans and steps to build a space station that is 488 meters in diameter. They would start with a hub that is 78 meters wide. The National Space Society has the goal of 100-meter wide space station that weighs 8500 tons. It could house 500 people.

In the NSS Space Settlement as Easier Way, there are Kalpana One space stations which at 450 meters in diameter and 224 meter in width would weigh 170,000 tons and could have about 8000 colonists. The 8000 person Kalpana stations are thus thicker than the proposed Gateway Foundation spaceport / hotel but they would have similar diameter. I had described how if 160 double sized Kalpana space stations were built then 2.5 million people could be housed in space. 2.5 million people is the population of the USA in 1776. Click here. (6/30)

Two Earth-Like Exoplanets Now Even Better Spots to Look for Life (Source: C/Net)
So far scientists believe they know Kepler 186f orbits in the so-called goldilocks zone around a dwarf star in the direction of the constellation Cygnus. That means temperatures are right for water to pool on the surface. The planet's size and mass also indicate it has a rocky surface like that of our planet. Now, new research out of Georgia Tech University has analyzed the planet's spin and axial tilt and found that its tilt is stable like Earth's, which makes it likely Kepler 186f also has regular seasons and a stable climate.

This is no trivial thing when it comes to determining how friendly a planet might be to the development of life. As study co-author and Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Gongjie Li explains, large fluctuations in Mars' tilt could be part of why it dried up into the barren world it is today. The team says Kepler 62f, a slightly more distant but potentially habitable exoplanet, also has a stable tilt. Earth's tilt is stabilized in part by other planets and our single large moon, something Mars lacks. It's not yet clear what's helping to keep the tilt of the two exoplanets steady, or if they even require any assistance. (6/29)

OneWeb Eschews Inter-sat Links (Source: Space News)
OneWeb won't include intersatellite links in its broadband satellite constellation because of regulatory issues. Company founder Greg Wyler said that national regulators have expressed concern about where data passing through those satellites will land, with a desire for "control and management of that data." OneWeb is the only major constellation developers to forego the use of intersatellite links, but other operators said they are aware of issues by regulators in some countries and are willing to find ways to address them. (7/2)

China's iSpace Raises $90.6 Million (Source: Caixin)
A Chinese launch vehicle company has raised $90 million. The company, iSpace, said it raised $90.6 million in a Series A round led by Matrix Partners China. The company said that it will use the funding to support research and development work on its launch vehicles, including engines powered by liquid oxygen and methane. The company performed a successful suborbital test flight in April. (7/2)

Soyuz Launch Delay Tips Dominoes at Kourou (Source: Interfax)
A delay in a European weather satellite launch could affect two other Soyuz launches from French Guiana scheduled for this year. A Russian industry source said that the launch of the MetOp-C polar-orbiting weather satellite on a Soyuz from French Guiana has slipped to Nov. 6. Two other Soyuz launches from French Guiana are also scheduled this year, of the first set of OneWeb satellites and of the Italian CSG-1 satellite. The Russian industry source said it was more likely CSG-1 would slip to next year as a result of this delay. (7/2)

Ariane Chief: U.S. Space Moves Will Expand Europe's Resolve (Source: Ars Technica)
The head of ArianeGroup said American rhetoric, including plans to establish a Space Force, will strength European resolve to support its space sector. Alain Charmeau said in an interview that he perceived comments by President Trump calling for a Space Force a sign that the U.S. will "invest in space for full dominance" and that Europe will respond accordingly. "The position of the US is helping Europe to strengthen its position," he said. "Europe wants access to space. Europe wants to have their own infrastructure in space, with Galileo and Copernicus. We seek cooperation." (7/2)

JAXA and Japan's Defense Force to Collaborate (Source: Asahi Shimbun)
Japan's defense minister said he wants to work with the space agency JAXA on space situational awareness. In a visit Monday to the Tsukuba Space Center, Itsunori Onodera said he will work with JAXA on tracking satellites and debris. Those efforts including installing a space surveillance radar and establishing a space division of the Air Self-Defense Force by the early 2020s. (7/2)

Solstar Space Seeks Crowdfunding Cash (Source: Santa Fe New Mexican)
A New Mexico company developing WiFi for space applications is looking to raise $1 million through crowdfunding. Solstar Space registered with the SEC last week to raise the money using a crowdfunding platform called Wefunder. Solstar plans to use the money on research and development for a system that can provide wifi access for people or payloads on spacecraft. The company tested the technology on a suborbital flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle in April. (7/2)

CASIS Picks New President (Source: CASIS)
The nonprofit that runs the national lab on the ISS has picked a new leader. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) announced it has hired Joseph Vockley as its new president and executive director, effective July 1. Vockley previously worked in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. CASIS operates the portion of the ISS designated as a national laboratory. (7/2)

Exoplanet Formation Caught in Action (Source: Science News)
Astronomers have taken the first "baby pictures" of an exoplanet. Astronomers using the Very Large Telescope in Chile said they've observed a planet forming in a disk of gas and dust surrounding a star 370 light-years away. The planet, designated PDS 70b, is anywhere between 2 and 17 times the mass of Jupiter and orbits the star at the same distance Uranus is from the sun. (7/2)