October 16, 2018

SpaceX Begins Huge Dirt Pile Removal to Pave Way for BFR Spaceship Hop Tests (Source: Teslarati)
After more than two years of silence, SpaceX has taken the first major tangible steps towards the construction of a dedicated South Texas rocket testing facility. In anticipation of a full-scale BFR spaceship (BFS) hop test campaign that could begin as early as late 2019, local contractors and a smattering of SpaceX employees have begun to earnestly break down and repurpose a large quantity of dirt – known as a surcharge pile – to allow the construction of real facilities to begin.

Documented as of late by a handful of interested local observers and another subset of less local but equally interested followers, SpaceX’s prospective South Texas test and launch facilities have experienced a near-unprecedented burst of activity over the last two months, most notably including the arrival of a small fleet of heavy machinery and construction contractors at a site SpaceX has been working on for three years.

After ~36 months of dead silence, this activity correlates well with recent comments from SpaceX indicating that the company is still targeting inaugural BFR spaceship hop tests sometime near the end of 2019. The infrastructure needed for those early tests could be quite sparse depending on the status of the BFR hardware to be ‘hopped’ – Falcon 9’s Grasshopper and F9R test campaigns, for example, operated off of a tiny concrete pad with extremely minimalist ground support equipment (GSE). (10/16)

Environmental Group Sues FAA Over Georgia's Proposed Spaceport (Source: Atlanta Business Chronicle)
An environmental group is suing to force the FAA to be more forthcoming with information surrounding a proposed commercial spaceport in southeastern Georgia. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) claims the FAA's failure to provide documents pertaining to the risks of harm to human life and property posed by Spaceport Camden is a violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

"Ensuring the public has all of the information about any major project is critically important, especially when we're talking about the potential for loss of life and significant damage to personal property," said Brian Gist, a senior attorney for the SELC. "It would be incredibly rash for Camden County and FAA to move ahead without fully disclosing the risks of this project to the public."

The FAA released a draft environmental impact statement last March declaring there are no impediments to the project becoming reality. But the SELC pointed to an assertion in the draft EIS that launch failures at Spaceport Camden could be in "the 2.5 [percent] to 6 percent range." That means if the spaceport launched 12 times per year, at least one rocket launch is expected to fail every two years. The FAA is still developing a final environment impact statement on the project. (10/16)

NASA is Trying to Figure Out How to Contain a Supervolcano That Could Destroy Humanity (Source: Insider)
Below Yellowstone National Park, there's a huge magma reservoir that's responsible for all the geysers and hot basins, bubbling away — and it's precisely this reservoir that has the potential to destroy humanity. Roughly every 100,000 years, there's a supervolcano explosion somewhere in the world, the consequences of which can be fatal. If the volcano below Yellowstone were to erupt, it would result in worldwide hunger and a volcanic winter (the cooling of the lower atmosphere). According to UN estimates, an eruption could leave us with just enough food reserves for exactly 74 days.

The hotter it gets in the volcano, the more gases it produces. The magma continues to melt and the area above the magma chamber rises — and when the heat exceeds a certain threshold, an explosion is inevitable. So the logical solution would be to cool the supervolcano. To cool the volcano, you need very large amounts of water that, in theory, you would have to feed into the volcano, but implementation is virtually impossible: "Building a big aqueduct uphill into a mountainous region would be both costly and difficult, and people don't want their water spent that way," Brian Wilcox of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the BBC.

But NASA has an alternative solution: Drill 10 kilometers deep into the supervolcano and pump water down under high pressure. This would slowly lower the temperature day by day. Above all, it is important to drill into the sides of the volcano instead of directly at the tip of the magma reservoir, because drilling there could even accelerate the eruption of the volcano. The catch is that the plan comes with a hefty pricetag: $3.46 billion. (10/6)

Scientists to Debate Landing Site for Next Mars Rover (Source: Space Daily)
Hundreds of scientists and Mars-exploration enthusiasts will convene in a hotel ballroom just north of Los Angeles later this week to present, discuss and deliberate the future landing site for NASA's next Red Planet rover - Mars 2020. The three-day workshop is the fourth and final in a series designed to ensure NASA receives the broadest range of data and opinion from the scientific community before the agency chooses where to send the new rover.

The Mars 2020 mission is tasked with not only seeking signs of habitable conditions on Mars in the ancient past, but also searching for signs of past microbial life. The landing site for Mars 2020 is of great interest to the planetary community because, among the rover's new medley of science gear for surface exploration, it carries a sample system that will collect rock and soil samples and set them aside in a "cache" on the surface of Mars. (10/16)

Environmental Defense Fund Plans Methane-Hunting Satellite (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a US-based non-profit environmental advocacy group, intends to launch a new satellite designed to measure methane emissions worldwide. The new spacecraft, named MethaneSAT, could offer a substantial help for countries and companies in combating global warming.

MethaneSAT project was unveiled by EDF President Fred Krupp on April 11, 2018. He presented a plan to develop a methane-hunting satellite during a TED Talk in Vancouver, British Columbia. MethaneSAT was described by Krupp as the newest chapter in the EDF’s ongoing effort to advance peer-reviewed science focused on oil and gas methane emissions. (10/16)

Paul Allen Dies, Space Plans to Continue (Source: Space News)
Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft who spent some of his wealth on space projects, passed away Monday at the age of 65. Allen died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to statement; he had been diagnosed with the cancer two weeks ago after after battling it nearly a decade ago. Allen funded development of SpaceShipOne, the suborbital vehicle that won the $10 million Ansari X Prize, and later founded Stratolaunch, which is developing a giant aircraft to serve as an air-launch platform. Allen's holding company, Vulcan Inc., said that Allen put into place plans for how his various ventures would continue after his death but did not disclose details beyond that there would be "no changes imminent" for them. (10/16)

Space Council Plans Oct. 23 Meeting on Space Force (Source: Space News)
The National Space Council will meet next week to discuss plans for establishing a Space Force. Vice President Mike Pence announced Friday plans for the meeting, scheduled for Oct. 23 at the National Defense University. Scott Pace, executive secretary of the council, confirmed Monday that development of the Space Force will be the main focus of the meeting. President Trump used the previous Space Council meeting, in June at the White House, to announce his intent to establish a Space Force as a separate military branch, which will ultimately require congressional approval. (10/16)

Kepler Comm Raises $16 Million (Source: Space News)
Kepler Communications has raised $16 million to fund development of its initial satellite constellation. Costanoa Ventures, an early-stage tech investor fund, led the round with participation from Deutsche Bahn's Digital Ventures and returning investors, including IA Ventures. Kepler is developing a fleet of satellites to provide wideband communications and Internet of Things connectivity services. The funding will support work on the initial phase of the constellation, featuring 15 satellites, but the company ultimately wants to operate up to 140 satellites. (10/16)

Phase Four Hires Executives in Electric Propulsion Effort (Source: Space News)
Satellite propulsion company Phase Four has hired new executives in a bid to win business from constellations. The company recently hired Beau Jarvis as its chief revenue officer and Laura Overly as its supply chain and materials director. Phase Four is developing electric propulsion systems intended for small and large satellites, and is looking to planned constellations as a key source of business. (10/16)

Scotland Seeks to Accelerate Spaceport Effort (Source: Aberdeen Press and Journal)
Scottish officials want to accelerate development of a launch site. That site, located in northern Scotland, was announced in July with plans to enter service in 2021. However, officials are now pushing to have the site ready by 2020 out of concerns an unidentified launch site in Scandinavia could enter service sooner. "The UK must be first to market to ensure the long-term success of the launch program," stated a report prepared by Frost and Sullivan for the UK Space Agency. (10/16)

SpaceX Confirms Rocket Debris on Carolina Beach (Source: Charlotte Observer)
A piece of debris that washed up on a North Carolina beach may be the fragment of a rocket launch. The object, about three meters long and nearly two meters wide, was spotted Sunday on an island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Pictures show part of an American flag on a white background, suggesting it's part of a payload fairing or other component of a launch vehicle. Local authorities said they've contacted SpaceX to see if the company can identify the item. (10/16)

A Fraying Spaceflight Infrastructure (Source: Space Review)
Last week’s Soyuz failure has implications for the future of the International Space Station, the commercial crew program, and international cooperation in space in general. It also, Jeff Foust reports, illustrates how tenuous our hold on space remains, six decades after the beginning of the Space Age. Click here. (10/16)
 
Asteroid Mining: Appealing to Our Romantic Side? (Source: Space Review)
There’s gold in them thar asteroids, space mining advocates argue, along with other precious metals and volatiles. John Hollaway, though, explains why he’s skeptical that those resources will be economically viable any time in the foreseeable future. Click here. (10/16)
 
So, You Want to Become a Cosmonaut? Inside the 2018 Cosmonaut Selection Process (Source: Space Review)
In August, Roscosmos announced a new class of eight cosmonauts which had been selected from a pool of just 420 applicants. Tony Quine examines the process by which Russia selected those cosmonauts, including the views of one candidate who fell short of being selected this time around. Click here. (10/16)