September 27, 2018

DOD Official Moving Forward with Space Command Concept (Source: Space News)
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is pushing ahead with planning for a U.S. Space Command separate from the ongoing Space Force debate. In a memo, Marine Corps. Gen. Joseph Dunford said he's planning a series of "tabletop exercises" this fall to help identify the mission and structure of the new combatant command. Dunford's memo suggests that he plans to model Space Command on the existing Special Operations Command, but with unresolved questions about where acquisition authority for the new command would reside. He added that any references to a proposed assistant secretary of defense for space position have been removed from the plan for creating Space Command given debate about whether such a position is needed. (9/27)

Another Potential Developer of GPS Satellites (Source: Space News)
An unidentified company submitted a second bid for the new set of GPS 3 satellites. The Air Force Wednesday formally ordered from Lockheed Martin the first two satellites under that new contract, the 11th and 12th of the GPS 3 system, for $1.3 billion, revealing that it received "one solicitation" in addition to Lockheed's proposal. The Air Force did not disclose who submitted the other bid, but Boeing and Northrop Grumman said earlier this year that they did not submit proposals for the new set of satellites. Lockheed says the new satellites, known as GPS 3F, are a new design and not copies of the original 10 GPS 3 satellites it's building under a decade-old contract. (9/27)

Trump Plans to Sign Spending Bill (Source: Washington Post)
President Trump said he will sign a spending bill passed by the House Wednesday, avoiding a government shutdown. The spending bill includes full fiscal year 2019 funding for the Defense Department and some other agencies, as well as a continuing resolution for the rest of the federal government, including NASA, through Dec. 7. Trump said Wednesday he would sign the bill, which the Senate previously passed, despite a lack of funding in the bill for a border wall. The 2019 fiscal year starts Monday. (9/27)

Chinese Company Claims Progress on Spaceplane (Source: GB Times)
A Chinese company claims to have made progress on a reusable spaceplane. The China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation said it recently completed a flight test of Tengfei-1, a spaceplane with both jet and rocket engines. However, the video the company showed at a Chinese conference this week only used computer-generated graphics, rather than actual flight test footage. The company didn't state when the vehicle would be ready to enter service, although past reports indicated that would take place around 2030. (9/27)

NASA Turns to the Search for Technosignatures Beyond Earth (Source: GeekWire)
It’s been a quarter-century since Congress cut off NASA funding for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, but now the space agency is revisiting the topic under another name: technosignatures. “I’m excited to announce that NASA is taking the 1st steps to explore ways to search for life advanced enough to create technosignatures: signs or signals, which if observed, would let us infer the existence of technological life elsewhere in the universe,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a tweet today.

The search is the focus of a workshop taking place this week at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, with experts on the search for exoplanets, artificial radio signals and other potential pointers in attendance. House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is due to give a welcome message. That’s a far cry from 1993, when a congressional effort spearheaded by Sen. Richard Bryan killed off NASA’s 10-year SETI program, which was known as the High Resolution Microwave Survey, or HRMS. (9/25)

The Almighty Tussle Over Whether We Should Talk to Aliens or Not (Source: WIRED)
Amongst this hodgepodge of messages, there has never been a sustained, scientific attempt to send a message to aliens. While the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has coalesced around a handful of well-funded and significant projects, such as Breakthrough Listen at the Berkeley SETI Research Centre and the China’s FAST telescope, the scientists and amateur astronomers committed to messaging ET have mostly been left to go it alone.

But why has the task of composing a message on behalf of the entire human race fallen to the handful researchers who are determined enough to push ahead with the project under their own steam? The problem, it turns out, is that no one can quite agree on the best way to message ET, or even if we should be doing it at all. Click here. (9/26)

China Will Deorbit its Tiangong-2 Space Laboratory in July 2019 (Source: GB Times)
China will perform a controlled deorbiting of the Tiangong-2 space laboratory in July 2019, according to officials from the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO). Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of CMSEO, told a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday that Tiangong-2 is functioning properly and in good condition, adding that adequate propellant remains for performing burns to deorbit the spacecraft.

Launched in September 2016, the spacecraft was designed as a stepping stone to prove technologies for a planned large, modular Chinese Space Station (CSS), receiving a two-astronaut crew and docking with a cargo spaceship. The decision to schedule the deorbiting of Tiangong-2 was taken by a management committee for the space lab on September 20. (9/26)

Midland City Council Approves Spaceport Extension (Source: Midland Reporter Telegram)
Too much in tangible assets still out there for the city to throw in the towel now, city leaders said. The Midland City Council overwhelmingly voted to give the spaceport at Midland International Airport another five years. By a 6-1 vote, council members approved the spending of $100,000 for the spaceport renewal license. The money will come from the Airport Operations Fund, not the city’s general fund.

Council members seemed to appreciate Councilman Spencer Robnett’s concern about economic development efforts that didn’t pan out, including the failed deals with XCOR Aerospace and Orbital Outfitters, which have either filed for bankruptcy or gone out of business since. Councilman Jeff Sparks even said during the meeting he felt the council was “duped” and that XCOR, in particular, was not what the council was led to believe.

Director of Airports Justine Ruff said a total of $2 million in city dollars has been spent on the spaceport through Airport Operations Fund, which she said is funded through parking lot fees and money brought in through minerals on airport land. Sparks and Councilman J.Ross Lacy also mentioned the “$10 million” in tangible assets that exist at Midland International because of Midland Development Corp. and Governor’s Office investments in aerospace in Midland. (9/25)

Spaceport in New Mexico Seeks Additional State Subsidies (Source: San Francisco Chronicle)
New Mexico's spaceport for vertical rocket and runway launches is asking for a 72 percent increase in funding from the state's general fund for the coming fiscal year. Spaceport America CEO Dan Hicks was scheduled Wednesday to brief state lawmakers about operations and finances for the southern New Mexico facility. The Legislature's lead budget-writing committee says the New Mexico Spaceport Authority is seeking a $700,000 increase, starting in July 2019, to its $976,000 annual allowance from the state general fund.

Virgin Galactic is the lead tenant at the spaceport and has tripled its lease payments this year. The company led by British billionaire Richard Branson plans to eventually use the spaceport to carry tourists on suborbital hops into the lower reaches of space. That project has experienced numerous setbacks. (9/25)

Capella Space Raises $19 Million for Radar Constellation (Source: Space News)
Capella Space, a startup planning a constellation of radar imaging satellites, has raised an additional $19 million to fund continued development of its system. The San Francisco-based company said it raised the Series B round, led by Spark Capital and Data Collective, also known as DCVC. Capella Space has raised approximately $35 million to date, including prior investments by both venture capital funds. (9/26)

Trump’s Space Force Is Putting Us All in Danger (Source: The Nation)
The president’s sudden enthusiasm seemed to come out of the blue. Even advocates of the Space Force concept were surprised. His Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and advised by a flock of space and defense industry executives, was only informed of Trump’s decision to proceed with what he called “the sixth armed service” shortly before the announcement was made.

Practical or not, the Space Force concept meets Trump’s two biggest needs: stroking his own ego and pumping up his political base. Calling for “space dominance” via a nifty new force makes for another great get-tough slogan for the president, not to mention a good distraction from his earthly troubles.

Mike Coffman (R-CO) and Steve Knight (R-CA) have paired up to lead a “rebellion” against the president’s Space Force, “one that some observers believe bears the fingerprints of the Air Force and its contractors.” Knight, whose district adjoins Edwards Air Force Base, is quoted this way: “This is something where, boy, I gotta disagree with the president.… I’m standing up for the US Air Force here. There’s nobody on the planet that does this better than they do.” (9/25)

Inside the Pentagon, Disagreements Deepen Over How to Create a Space Force (Source: Space News)
A December deadline looms for the Pentagon to submit a legislative proposal to the White House on how to organize an independent military service for space. And internal battles are heating up. That reality was made clear last week by the Pentagon’s space reorganization boss Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Speaking at the Air Force Association’s annual symposium in front of a huge audience of service officials, Shanahan did not sugarcoat the challenge: “We’re working to create a Space Force which, as you might imagine, is a complicated process.”

Sources say the Air Force is prepared to go to the mat to defend the SECAF’s blueprint. DoD is said to be unhappy with the $13 billion number but has yet to offer an alternative estimate. How the Space Force is organized will dictate the cost, but there is a wide spectrum of options between what Wilson put forth and Shanahan’s suggestion that the “headquarters will be lean, with every possible resource devoted to enhancing our capabilities.”

One of Wilson’s most forceful arguments is that the Space Force should have its own acquisition organization, so she is proposing that a new Space Development Agency be combined with the current Air Force Space Rapid Capabilities Office, and that they be rolled into the new service along with the National Reconnaissance Office that develops the military’s most sensitive and sophisticated satellites. DoD wants to avoid a turf war with the intelligence community and would prefer to not touch the NRO for now. (9/26)

Boeing Completes Satellite-Firm Takeover as Trump Expands in Space (Source: Washington Examiner)
Boeing, which is designing a reusable space plane for the U.S. military, has completed the takeover of a firm that builds small satellites like those the craft is designed to carry as President Trump broadens America's off-world power. Boeing didn't say how much it paid for Millennium Space Systems, which builds high-performance satellites weighing from 50 to 6,000 kilograms for national security clients.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., Millennium has about 260 employees who will join Boeing's $21 billion Defense, Space and Security Division. They will report to Mark Cherry, head of Boeing's Phantom Works product-development unit. (9/25)

Lockheed Martin Strengthens Position in Military Satellite Market (Source: Space News)
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has made “go fast” the bumper sticker for space programs. The thinking is that, should a military conflict extend into space, the Air Force would be positioned to protect the nation’s satellites from attacks and also quickly launch new ones into orbit to beef up existing constellations.

So far the company that has most benefitted from the push for faster acquisitions and more security is Lockheed Martin. Its advantage comes from being a trusted supplier with a hot production line for military satellites. Over the past several months, the company received a $2.9 billion contract to build three strategic missile-warning satellites, known as next-generation OPIR — and a $7.2 billion deal to produce up to 22 jam-resistant GPS 3 satellites. (9/26)

Air Force Could Assume Bigger Role in DARPA’s Blackjack Program (Source: Space News)
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Blackjack is small compared to traditional military space procurements but it is one of the most talked about space projects. Blackjack is a dramatic departure from the conventional ways of doing business in the Defense Department. It wants to buy small satellites from commercial vendors, equip them with military sensor payloads and deploy a small constellation in low-Earth orbit to see how they perform in real military operations.

Congress has been a huge supporter and added more than $100 million above DARPA’s request. But as the program matures, lawmakers have raised questions about its management. DARPA’s plan all along was to conduct a demonstration and then turn the program over to the Air Force. But the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center already is taking on an active role. Lawmakers want to see Blackjack accelerated and some have suggested it should move to SMC sooner rather than letter. “There’s a management issue brewing,” said an industry source. (9/26)

Arianespace Launches 100th Ariane 5, Completes Intelsat Epic Constellation (Source: Space News)
rianespace completed the 100th launch of a heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket Sept. 25, carrying two satellites co-owned between Intelsat and partner satellite operators. The rocket lifted off from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 6:38 p.m. Eastern at the end of its 45-minute launch window, carrying the Horizons-3e and Intelsat-38/Azerspace-2 satellites.

The 6,400-kilogram Horizons-3e satellite from manufacturer Boeing separated from the rocket’s upper stage 28 minutes later, followed by the 3,500-kilogram Intelsat-38/Azerspace-2 from Space Systems Loral 14 minutes later. Luxembourg- and Washington-based Intelsat confirmed signal acquisition from both spacecraft shortly after separation. (9/25)

Aerojet Rocketdyne Seeks Other Customers for AR1 Engine (Source: Space News)
With growing doubts it will be selected by ULA for its Vulcan rocket, Aerojet Rocketdyne is looking to smaller launch vehicles as potential customers for its AR1 engine. Company spokesman Steve Warren said that Aerojet Rocketdyne believed that the AR1, which it had been developing for Vulcan, could be used instead on unspecified medium-class launch vehicles.

“Citing threats to U.S. space capabilities, senior U.S. defense officials have emphasized a need to transition to smaller spacecraft that can be developed and launched more quickly,” Warren said. “A medium-class launch vehicle powered by a single AR1 is ideally suited to become a new workhorse rocket for the nation.”

There is, for now, little work on launch vehicles in that category, with the focus instead on both much smaller vehicles for dedicated smallsat launches, for which the AR1 would likely be oversized, as well as larger EELV-class vehicles like Vulcan. Warren didn’t elaborate on any specific concepts for such vehicles that could make use of the AR1. Those comments come as evidence grows that the AR1 will not be ready for the Vulcan, which ULA plans to have ready for a first launch in 2020. (9/25)

SpaceX Lands New Japanese Client for Lunar Rover Mission (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. signed its second Japanese customer in as many weeks -- but the payload this time will be lunar rovers rather than a group of space tourists. Tokyo-based lunar-exploration startup Ispace has signed up for launches on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in 2020 and 2021. The first will carry a lunar lander into orbit around the moon, and the second aims to put one on the moon’s surface so it can deploy a pair of rovers, Ispace said Wednesday. (9/26)

Jacobs Supports NASA in Hitting Major Milestone at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Jacobs)
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE :JEC ), and NASA, recently achieved a major milestone at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as the modified mobile launcher (ML), sitting atop a refurbished Crawler Transporter (CT-2), took its maiden voyage to Launch Pad 39B and then to the Vehicle Assembly Building for fit checks and testing. The ML will support NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft during processing and launch. (9/25)

Curiosity, Concern Over Mysterious Rocket Being Built in East Bay (Source: KGO TV)
What's a rocket doing in the East Bay? It concerns a company at the old Alameda Naval Air Station that makes a small rocket to carry tiny commercial satellites into orbit. But the company doesn't talk to the media. So, some people who work nearby are just learning about it, like Tyler Mitchell at the St. George Spirit Company a few blocks away:

"I think there's a lot of empty space here. Why not put it to good use? I would just be concerned to know what it's actually for," he said. The rocket belongs to a startup called Astra. They won't talk to us on camera. But their application to operate in Alameda says the company is building the next generation of rocket to launch satellites weighing 100 kilograms into orbit. (9/26)

After a Decade of Testing, Propylene Rocket Fuel may be Ready for Prime Time (Source: Ars Technica)
For a long time, Rocket Propellant-1, or RP-1, reigned supreme as the fuel of choice for the first stage of rockets. This highly refined form of kerosene, which was derived from jet fuel, powered the Saturn, Delta, Atlas, and Soyuz rockets throughout the 20th century. It even served as fuel for modern rockets like the Falcon 9.

However, a long-time rocket scientist named John Garvey believes there is another viable fuel for rockets, propylene, and he has been working with it for more than a decade. After Garvey co-founded Vector in late 2015 along with Jim Cantrell and Eric Besnard, he got a chance to put his propylene fuel into action for a real orbital rocket. And now, he says, propylene has proven itself. Vector has received a patent for its liquid oxygen-propylene rocket engine and is nearing the first flight of its orbital Vector-R rocket, which is powered by three of these engines.

Garvey said the company has succeeded in scaling up from experimental engines to the LP-1 engines in the Vector-R rocket, each of which produces about 6,000 pounds of thrust. "The biggest challenge has been optimizing the startup mode," he said. Essentially, Garvey and the other engineers have had to do a lot of tinkering to ensure that, during the final seconds of countdown, the igniter works properly, and the engine quickly reaches full thrust without damaging the engine itself. (9/25)