August 1, 2018

Work Begins on Rocket Engines for SLS Flights a Decade From Now (Source: Ars Technica)
One of the primary criticisms of NASA's Space Launch System is that the program was created to save jobs at key agency contractors that otherwise would have been lost following the end of the space shuttle program. The large new rocket includes several heritage components from the shuttle, including its main engines. When the space shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA had 15 of the reusable main engines left over and has since built one more from spare parts. Because the expendable SLS rocket will use four engines in its core stage, this means NASA presently has enough for the first four flights of the SLS rocket.

NASA will therefore eventually need more engines for the SLS rocket—assuming the rocket flies more than a handful of flights—so the agency awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a $1.16 billion contract in 2016 to restart production of a modified version of the space shuttle main engine, known as the RS-25. In addition to this, the space agency placed an order for six "flight" engines, bringing the total value of the contract to $1.5 billion. Aerojet is already beginning production of those six engines. All of the flight engines are planned to be delivered to NASA by July, 2024 and will likely be used beginning with the fifth flight of the SLS rocket. (8/1)

Maser Joins Aerojet Rocketdyne as Senior Vice President, Space Business Unit (Source: Aerojet)
Aerojet Rocketdyne announced today that Jim Maser will join the company on Aug. 13 as senior vice president of the Space Business Unit, reporting directly to CEO and President Eileen Drake. In this role, Maser will oversee all NASA programs, defense and commercial launch systems, advanced space and launch strategy programs, and in-space propulsion system programs supported by sites throughout the country. He will be based out of the company’s Los Angeles facility.

Maser brings more than 32 years of global aerospace experience spanning entrepreneurial space launch and human spaceflight as well as commercial and military jet engines. “Because Jim previously served as president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for more than six years, he also brings familiarity with our products, our customers and our world-class workforce. I can’t think of a better match for our company and for our Space organization, and I am thrilled to have Jim join my senior leadership team.” Maser is the immediate past president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and currently serves on the association’s board of trustees. (8/1)

Designing a Martian Habitat Where People Could Really Thrive (Source: Design Boom)
Hassell reveals its vision for human habitation on mars, after being listed in NASA’s top 10 for its 3D printing centennial challenge. The competition sought perspectives from outside the aerospace industry, to explore how a human habitat could be designed and delivered on mars using autonomous 3D printing technologies and sustainable design practices. The approach by hassell and engineers eckersley o’callaghan puts people first — it moves beyond the idea of astronauts as operators, to create a habitat where people can not only survive life on mars but really thrive there. Click here. (7/31)

Cancer-Causing Chemicals Found in Satellite Beach Groundwater (Source: WESH)
City officials in Satellite Beach said chemicals known to cause cancer have been found in the city’s groundwater. City officials ordered that the water be tested after a Department of Defense report revealed that cancer-causing chemicals are present in high concentrations at Patrick Air Force Base. The chemical found at the base were perfluorooctane sulfonate and/or perfluorooctanoic acid, which are used to extinguish aircraft fires.

The city tested three sites for the chemicals. Samples were taken from wells near Sea Park Elementary, Delaura Middle School and City Hall. “The results for each site are as follows: City Hall, 41.5 parts per trillion; Jackson Avenue property (next to Satellite High School), 22.85 parts per trillion, and Sea Park Community Park 30.13 parts per trillion,” officials said. “As a benchmark, the Environmental Protection Agency has established a provisional health advisory level for drinking water regarding these compounds, which is 70 parts per trillion,” the city said in a news release.

City officials said they are discussing with state and county experts how the results impact residents. “Please remember that your ground water is not your drinking water and we use our ground water primarily for irrigation purposes,” city officials said. (8/1)

Globalstar Calls Off Merger (Sources: Seeking Alpha/Bloomberg)
Globalstar called off a merger orchestrated by owner Thermo Capital that would have combined the satellite operator with a landline company. The $1.65 billion arrangement was initially expected to close this quarter. Globalstar said there are no termination fees resulting from the cancelled deal. Jay Monroe, chief executive of Globalstar and head of Thermo Capital, had been in a dispute with Jason Mudrick, a hedge fund manager with shares in Globalstar, over the merger. Mudrick secretly recorded a meeting with Monroe and used the tape in a July 3 trial in an effort to prove Monroe engineered a bad deal that overvalues the assets he controls. (8/1)

Intelsat Adds Satellite to Dual-Payload Ariane 5 Mission (Source: Intelsat)
Intelsat will use one of its own satellites as a co-passenger for an Ariane 5 mission it originally was sharing with the Indian space agency. The launch of the Intelsat-38/Azerspace-2 condosat, originally planned for May, will now launch in September with Horizons-3e, a joint venture satellite between Intelsat and Sky Perfect JSAT. The Indian space agency ISRO withdrew its GSAT-11 satellite in April to review its health. The Intelsat satellites bring coverage over Europe, Africa and Asia, with Horizons-3e extending Intelsat's high-throughput "Epic" coverage from regional to global. (8/1)

DOD Space Reorganization Report Delayed (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department said Tuesday it was delaying the release of a space reorganization report. The Pentagon had planned to release the report Wednesday and meet with reporters about it, but the department said it needed more time to complete "final coordination stages" of the report. The report will be released "soon," a spokesman said, but was not more specific. A draft of the report earlier this week called for the formation of several elements of a potential future Space Force, including a joint acquisition agency, an issue some sources say could be the one requiring that additional coordination. (7/31)

NASA IG Challenges Feasibility of ISS Commercialization (Source: Space News)
A new report by NASA's Office of Inspector General is the latest to cast doubts on ISS commercialization plans. The report released this week concluded that NASA's plans to end direct federal funding of the ISS in 2025 and transfer all or part of it to the private sector may not be feasible, at least on that schedule. The report cited "several overly optimistic assumptions" in a transition report submitted to Congress in March, including costs and potential revenues a private operator could generate. Paul Martin, NASA's Inspector General, offered similar criticism of the plans at a Senate hearing in May. (7/31)

SES Revenues Shift From Video to Data (Source: Space News)
Satellite operator SES sees a shift in revenues from video to data services over the next few years. The company said that it anticipates that video services, which constitute 68 percent of the company's current revenues, will drop to less than 60 percent by 2020, with data services rising from 32 to more than 40 percent. In a recent earnings call, SES CEO Steve Collar said development of its next-generation mPower satellite system was going well after a recently completed preliminary design review with manufacturer Boeing. (7/31)

Senators Nelson, Cruz, Markey Seek Mars Focus for NASA Exploration (Source: Space News)
Key senators want NASA's human spaceflight program to remain focused on Mars. At a recent hearing, senators from both parties said the agency's focus should be on getting humans to Mars in the 2030s, even as it builds up its plans for a cislunar gateway and human missions to the surface of the moon. Senators also criticized NASA for not delivering a human exploration roadmap report, required by a 2017 NASA authorization bill, that was originally due last December. The hearing was the first in a series planned by the Senate Commerce Committee as it develops a new NASA authorization bill, with the second, focusing on NASA science programs, scheduled for this afternoon. (7/31)

Oklahoma University Meteorologist Nominated to Lead OSTP (Source: Science)
The White House has finally nominated a science advisor. The administration formally announced late Tuesday its intent to nominate Kelvin Droegemeier, a meteorologist and vice president of research at the University of Oklahoma, to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), a position that requires Senate confirmation. The long-delayed nomination was warmly received by many scientists and scientific organizations, citing his extensive knowledge of policy issues in science. OSTP has, in past administrations, been active in shaping space policy, a role now held by the National Space Council. (7/31)

China Ties Record with 22nd Space Launch of 2018 (Source: Space News)
A Chinese launch this week tied a record with five months left to go in the year. The Long March 4B launch of the Gaofen-11 imaging satellite was the 22nd Chinese launch of the year, tying a record for the most launches in a year by the country set in 2016. Chinese officials previously set a goal of about 35 launches this year. Upcoming launches include the Chang'e-4 lunar lander mission late this year and first orbital launches by startup companies Landspace and Onespace. (7/31)

India's GSAT Delay Prompts Arianespace to Seek Deposit for Future Launch (Source: New Indian Express)
India's decision to postpone the launch of a communications satellite earlier this year could prove costly. The Indian space agency ISRO postponed the launch of the GSAT-11 satellite on an Ariane 5 that was scheduled for May in order to ship the satellite back to India for inspections, which turned up no issues with the spacecraft. Arianespace has reportedly notified ISRO that it will reschedule the GSAT-11 satellite only if the agency provides at least partial payment for the future launch of two other satellites, GSAT-30 and 31, by Aug. 15. ISRO is seeking additional government funding to pay for those launches. (7/31)

UAE Astronauts Lined Up for Training (Source: TASS)
The finalists in the competition to be the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates have arrived in Russia for medical examinations. The nine finalists will undergo tests, after which one person will be selected to begin training later in August for a April 2019 flight to the ISS on Soyuz spacecraft. Another person will also be trained as a backup. That astronaut will spend about a week on the ISS before returning in another Soyuz spacecraft. (7/31)

Poll: NASA Should Focus on Climate Change (Source: Bloomberg)
Another poll finds that the American public thinks NASA should focus on climate change rather than human space exploration. The poll by Bloomberg Businessweek and Morning Consult found that 43 percent of Americans believe monitoring Earth's climate should be the agency's top priority, while 25 percent said monitoring asteroids "or other objects" in space should be its top priority. Only eight percent said NASA's top focus should be on sending humans to other planets, with just three percent saying it should be a human return to the moon. The results are similar to a poll released in June by the Pew Research Center. (7/31)

NASA Awards Suborbital Research Rides (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded contracts to four companies to provide suborbital research flight services. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts, with a combined potential value of $45 million over five years, will support flights of research payloads through the Flight Opportunities program. Two of the companies, Blue Origin and Up Aerospace, will provide rocket launches, while the other two, Aerostar International and World View Enterprises, offer high-altitude balloon flights. (7/31)

Here’s How NASA Plans to Build on Other Planets (Source: FastCompany)
For the last five years, a lean internal team of engineers at the Kennedy Space Center has taken a different approach to solving big problems–NASA’s literal and metaphorical moonshots. It’s called the Swamp Works lab, and its members experiment and take risks in the hopes of accelerating research and making bigger breakthroughs. One of the problems Swamp Works has set its sights on? How to build on other planets.

This week, Swamp Works shared details of how it’s using a combination of regolith and plastic polymer to 3D print its first large-scale construction prototype. But rather than printing a Martian structure, the group printed a Jersey barrier, the type of barricade you probably see on the side of the highway every day. Here on Earth, these barriers need to be able to withstand the impact of a car hurtling into them–which makes them the perfect test case for the atmospheric pressure that extraterrestrial architecture will need to endure. Click here. (7/31)

NASA, Commercial Partners Progress to Human Spaceflight Home Stretch (Source: Space Daily)
NASA and commercial industry partners Boeing and SpaceX are making significant advances in preparing to launch astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011. As part of the Commercial Crew Program's public-private partnership, both companies are fine-tuning their designs, integrating hardware, and testing their crew spacecraft and rockets to prepare for test flights. Here's a look at the milestones so far in 2018. (8/1)

First SLS Core Stage Flight Hardware Complete, Ready for Joining (Source: Space Daily)
The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

The backbone of the world's most powerful rocket, the 212-foot-tall core stage, will contain the SLS rocket's four RS-25 rocket engines, propellant tanks, flight computers and much more. Though the smallest part of the core stage, the forward skirt will serve two critical roles. It will connect the upper part of the rocket to the core stage and house many of the flight computers, or avionics. (8/1)