August 29, 2018

Startup Plans “Gas Stations” for Satellite Servicing (Source: Space News)
A startup company planning to develop orbital propellant depots to assist satellite servicing ventures has raised an initial round of funding to support a first launch as soon as next year. Orbit Fab, a Silicon Valley-based company with about a dozen employees, said Aug. 28 that a round of funding led by venture capital firm Bolt will enable it to demonstrate technology for fuel tanks that could be used by future satellite servicing systems.

Faber said Orbit Fab will work with companies developing satellite servicing systems rather than create its own. “We’ve seen that the satellite servicing operators have a lot on their plates standing up their businesses, so they can’t take on the extra risk of standing up a gas station business,” he said. “We decided we would take that part.” The concept sounds simple, but comes with plenty of technical and business challenges, he acknowledged. “This hasn’t been done before because it’s not a simple thing to do,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of technical things we have to get through. We’ve got a lot of business things we have to get through.” (8/28)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Demonstrates Electric Propulsion Capabilities for Future Deep Space Missions (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
An early systems integration test was performed by Aerojet Rocketdyne for NASA’s Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) program, which includes technology that could be used on NASA’s proposed lunar-orbiting outpost in the early 2020s, the company said. Aerojet Rocketdyne is under contract with NASA to develop and qualify a 13-kilowatt Hall thruster string for the U.S. space agency. The recent test focused on the power elements of the AEPS Hall thruster string, in particular the discharge supply unit and the power processing unit, to prove the system’s ability to convert power at a high efficiency level and produce minimal waste heat. (8/28)

10 Reasons Why NASA is Visiting Asteroid Bennu (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The spacecraft will briefly touch Bennu’s surface around July 2020 to collect at least 60 grams (equal to about 30 sugar packets) of dirt and rocks. It might collect as much as 2,000 grams, which would be the largest sample by far gathered from a space object since the Apollo Moon landings. The spacecraft will then pack the sample into a capsule and travel back to Earth, dropping the capsule into Utah’s west desert in 2023, where scientists will be waiting to collect it.

This years-long quest for knowledge thrusts Bennu into the center of one of the most ambitious space missions ever attempted. But the humble rock is but one of about 780,000 known asteroids in our solar system. So why did scientists pick Bennu for this momentous investigation? Here are 10 reasons. Click here. (8/28)

Putin Pushes for Shift From Kleptocracy to Innovation Economy (Source: Space Daily)
Russian President Vladimir Putin called on authorities to do everything for talented youth to "feel like they are in demand" and to lure "scientists from all over the world to Russia." He said Russia's financing for science has drastically increased in the last 17 years and called for the state to "create conditions to attract talented youth to science." But critics say the government has done little to improve the investment climate and opportunities for businesses and scientists in Russia.

The authorities have also failed to stem the brain drain from the country's middle class. According to a survey by a state-controlled pollster released last month, nearly one in three Russians aged 18 to 24 wants to leave and live abroad. In addition, a crackdown on internet freedom by security services has intensified in the country over the past few months. An increasing number of Russians, including teenagers, are being prosecuted because of posts on social media -- in some cases even "likes" or reposts  -- branded extremist by the authorities. Putin, re-elected for a fourth term in March, has ruled Russia since 2000. (8/28)

Virgin Nears LauncherOne Captive-Carry Tests (Source: Aviation Week)
Virgin Orbit is on the verge of flying its LauncherOne rocket under the wing of the company’s modified Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft for the first time, marking a key milestone on the path to an initial orbital launch attempt. The California-based space launch company is preparing for captive-carry rocket tests, having completed a series of flights of the former airliner configured with a specially designed launch pylon/payload adapter.

Captive-carry testing, if successful, will culminate with the release of an inert vehicle over a desert test range, and is designed to clear the way for an initial attempt at air-launching the first vehicle to orbit. Flight tests followed the installation of the pylon at Victorville, California, where the work is believed to have been undertaken at GE Aviation’s flight test facility. Initial tests were flown from Victorville rather than from the nearby Mojave Air & Space Port facilities of sister companies Virgin Galactic and The SpaceShip Company, where the 747 will be headquartered for the first space launch missions. (8/28)

Price Tag Rises for Russia's Angara Launch Pad (Source: TASS)
A new launch pad for Russia's Angara rocket will cost a little bit more and take a little longer to build than previously planned. The new launch complex at the Vostochny Cosmodrome for the Angara is scheduled for completion at the end of 2022 at a cost of $580 million, according to Roscosmos procurement documents. The cost has grown by about three percent from prior estimates, which expected the pad to be complete by 2021. (8/28)

Space Command to Precede Space Force (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon is moving ahead with plans to establish a U.S. Space Command as the debate on a standalone Space Force continues. Defense Secretary James Mattis said the command, to be led by a four-star officer, will be established in the next few months, and will be funded with existing resources and staffed with existing personnel. Space Command will be a step beyond what Congress called for in its latest defense authorization bill, which called for the creation of a Space Command as a "sub-unified" command within Strategic Command. Mattis added he's been in talks with Congress on legislation needed to create a Space Force, but that there are no cost estimates yet for for establishing it. (8/28)

SpaceX Launch Manifest Tightens as Missions Slip Toward Year-End (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX's launch schedule for the fourth quarter of this year is getting crowded. A number of launches that were scheduled for the third quarter of this year have slipped later in the year because of launch vehicle or payload issues. That's included the second flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket, now scheduled for no earlier than the end of November, and the final launch of Iridium satellites, now no earlier than October. The company's next launch, of the Telstar 18 Vantage satellite, was scheduled for last weekend but has been rescheduled for Sep. 8. (8/28)

Defense Companies Run Space Race (Source: Wall Street Journal)
Defense and aerospace companies are accelerating plans to develop new types of missiles and satellites in an effort to capitalize on President Trump’s proposed military branch devoted to space warfare. Even before the “space force” was announced earlier this month, Pentagon space spending was on the rise, in part to combat the rising threat to U.S. satellites from China and Russia. Space projects could see larger shifts of money as debate over the Space Force plan increases public awareness of the drive to speed up deployment of next-generation space equipment.

The increased budget is attracting the attention not only of big companies like Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin but also smaller ones like Booz Allen. Companies are prioritizing the development of fast, highly maneuverable missiles; technology to detect hostile missile launches; small, more-resilient communications satellites; and processing data from new sensors. Getting less attention in the budget is traditional space hardware, such as bigger satellites that typically have taken longer to build and deploy.

Existing military space efforts are focused through the Air Force, which has said it wants to spend around $44 billion on unclassified space research, development and new equipment over the next five years—nearly 20% more than its prior guidance in 2017. While the projections were made before the president’s space-force plan, much of the money could end up shifted to the new branch if Congress approves it. (8/27)

Lockheed Martin Begins Final Assembly of NASA's Orion Spaceship in Florida (Source: Lockheed Martin)
Technicians have completed construction on the spacecraft capsule structure that will return astronauts to the Moon, and have successfully shipped the capsule to Florida for final assembly into a full spacecraft. The capsule structure, or pressure vessel, for NASA's Orion Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) spacecraft was welded together over the last seven months by Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans.

Orion's pressure vessel is made from seven large, machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together to produce a strong, light-weight, air-tight capsule. It was designed specifically to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space travel while keeping the crew safe and productive. The capsule was shipped over the road from New Orleans to the Kennedy Space Center, arriving on Aug. 24. Now in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, Lockheed Martin technicians will immediately start assembly and integration on the EM-2 crew module. (8/28)

Tesla Model X to Carry First Astronauts Flying in SpaceX’s Dragon Spacecraft to Launch Pad (Source: Electrek)
SpaceX is preparing to make its first demo launches for NASA’s commercial crew mission program, which aims to bring back the capability for U.S. spacecraft to fly astronauts to space. The rocket company plans to use Tesla Model X vehicles to bring the first astronauts flying in the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the launch pad. It appears to be the latest example of some synergy between Elon Musk’s two main companies. (8/28)