October 17, 2018

ULA Atlas Launches Air Force Satellite at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
An Atlas 5 successfully launched a military communications satellite overnight. The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 551 lifted off at 12:15 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and deployed the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) 4 satellite into a customized geostationary transfer orbit three and a half hours later. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is the fourth in a planned series of six spacecraft intended to provide secure, nuclear-survivable, anti-jam communications. The launch used the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 to place AEHF-4 into a transfer orbit with a high perigee and low inclination to minimize the work the satellite has to do to reach its final geostationary orbit. (10/17)

Cosmonauts Inspect Leaky Soyuz Capsule's Exterior in ISS Spacewalk (Source: Interfax)
Cosmonauts may inspect the exterior of the Soyuz spacecraft currently docked at the space station in December. A spacewalk previously planned for November to look at the exterior of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft could instead take place in December, depending on when the Soyuz rocket returns to flight and is able to launch a new crew to the station. The station's crew patched a small hole in the spacecraft's orbital module in August after detecting a small air leak on the station, but what caused the hole remains under investigation. That revised schedule would also include two spacewalks in December on the U.S. segment of the station that were delayed after last week's launch failure. (10/17)

ThinKom Developing Antenna for Broadband Satellites (Source: Space News)
Another antenna company is joining the race to develop systems to support broadband constellations. ThinKom tested a new phased-array antenna with the O3b constellation operated by SES in August and also announced plans to to work with Telesat and the demonstration satellite currently in orbit for its planned broadband constellation. The company is hoping to secure business with planned satellite constellations, competing with startups like Kymeta and Phasor to offer the affordable ground systems needed for those constellations to be successful. (10/17)

Why Sending Humans to Venus is a Brilliant Idea (Source: Space Daily)
The atmospheric pressure of 55km is about half that of the pressure at sea level on Earth. In fact you would be fine without a pressure suit, as this is roughly equivalent to the air pressure you would encounter at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Nor would you need to insulate yourself as the temperature here ranges between 20C and 30C.

The atmosphere above this altitude is also dense enough to protect astronauts from ionising radiation from space. The closer proximity of the sun provides an even greater abundance of available solar radiation than on Earth, which can be used to generate power (approximately 1.4 times greater). The conceptual airship would float around the planet, being blown by the wind. It could, usefully, be filled with a breathable gas mixture such as oxygen and nitrogen, providing buoyancy. This is possible because breathable air is less dense than the Venusian atmosphere and, as result, would be a lifting gas. (10/17)

Ariane 6 Could Launch Crewed Spacecraft (Source: Space Daily)
The new EU Ariane 6 carrier rocket will be able to fulfill various tasks including ensuring manned space flights, President of the Ariane Group Alain Charmeau said. "The United States is surpassing Europe due to resumption of NASA and SpaceX manned flights starting from 2019. India is also surpassing Europe due to the program scheduled for 2022. Ariane 6 has not thought about implementation of such a task [manned flights] but it will be able to adapt," Charmeau told the Figaro newspaper.

The Ariane Group president pointed out that the company wanted to create a carrier rocket that would be able to fulfill a number of tasks and replace all current carrier rockets. The Ariane 6 rocket will be able to place into orbit satellites with the weight from 50 kilograms (over 110 pounds) to more than 5 tonnes. (10/17)

Maritime Launch Services Takes it Vision to Canada's Finance Committee (Source: SpaceQ)
Maritime Launch Services (MLS), which one days hopes to open a spaceport in Nova Scotia to launch rockets from a variety of providers, took advantage of the federal Finance Committee’s pre-budget in-person consultation opportunity to talk about its business and why it’s important to Canada. The process allows for organizations to pro-actively request to speak in person to the committee as it holds hearing every fall. It’s an opportunity that really shouldn’t be passed on if you really want to engage with parliamentarians in a public, on the record setting. (10/17)

SpaceX Rocket Debris Discovered on Cumberland Island (Source: Spaceport Facts)
Large parts of a SpaceX rocket have been found on Cumberland Island, an area downrange of Georgia's proposed spaceport. The debris, which weighed more than 1,000 pounds, has been discretely removed from Cumberland Island National Seashore. The discovery of rocket debris was not publicly reported by officials. (10/16)

45th Space Wing Gears Up for Surge in Launch Activity (Source: Space News)
The 45th Space Wing is on a “drive to 48,” or 48 launches per year. “We’re at 20 launches, and we have five on the schedule for the rest of the year,” said 45th Space Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess. “We’re hoping for 24 [this year] so we can say we got half way to the drive to 48.” It has been a steep climb. “Twenty-three is the most we’ve had in a long time,” he said. “Twenty-four would be great.”

With more commercial activity and new launch vehicles entering the national security market, the range has to operate faster and more efficiently, said Schiess. One priority will be to upgrade the range infrastructure, Schiess said. Another goal is to increase the use of autonomous flight safety systems, a technology that SpaceX already has deployed for its launches at Cape Canaveral. “That’s the future,” said Schiess. “That’s where we want everyone to go to. It makes for a more responsive range because we don’t have to bring out as many assets to do range safety. ULA and others will move towards that too.”

Space Florida also is working to attract the burgeoning small launch industry. It signed an agreement with NASA a couple of years ago to take over the launch and landing facility where the Space Shuttle used to land. Space Florida inked a 30-year deal to turn the facility into a multiuser spaceport. Target customers would be companies like Sierra Nevada and Virgin Orbit that operate smaller vehicles. (10/16)

JFK's Neice Warns Space Force is a Threat to NASA (Source: Express)
The accomplished film director and niece of the late President John F Kennedy expressed her “disappointment” in the current US presidency. Ms Kennedy, who has filmed a documentary celebrating 60 years of NASA’s existence Above & Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow, fears the White House’s militarization of space could starve the space agency of funding, focus and public interest.

She recalled her uncle’s iconic Rice Stadium speech in Houston from 1962, where President Kennedy announced his goal of landing on the Moon. Ms Kennedy argued, the US’ interests in space at the time were motivated by the spirit of discovery, cooperation and looking forward to a brighter future. As outlined in her documentary, the groundwork laid down by President Kennedy and NASA led to the discovery of the damaged ozone layer, the 1987 Montreal Protocol in response and the International Space Station (ISS).

“‘We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because the goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.’ “I love that idea, which really contrasts to what we’re experiencing today, where a leader is really tapping into the best in all of us and encouraging us to work together towards a lofty aspiring goal.” (10/13)

China Developing New Sub-Hunting Satellite (Source: Space Daily)
As China develops cutting-edge deep-sea surveillance, the nation's navy is concurrently designing a satellite-mounted laser to locate and destroy enemy submarines. The satellite, which will be able to spot targets 500 meters below the surface, would also be used to gather data on the world's oceans, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Monday. (10/15)

Data Transfer Via Gravitational Waves (Source: Space Daily)
RUDN mathematicians analyzed the properties of gravitational waves in a generalized affine- metrical space (an algebraic construction operating the notions of a vector and a point) similarly to the properties of electromagnetic waves in Minkowski space-time.

It turned out that there is the possibility of transmitting information with the help of nonmetricity waves and transferring it spatially without distortions. The discovery can help the scientists master new means of data transfer in space, e.g. between space stations. The article of the scientists was published in the Classical and Quantum Gravity journal. (10/15)

Ovzon Signs with SpaceX for First Satellite Launch (Source: Ovzon)
In an important step towards growing its satellite service offering, Ovzon has entered into an agreement with SpaceX for launch of Ovzon’s first GEO satellite. The launch is expected to take place no earlier than Q4 2020. The next step for the company is to finalize the procurement of the satellites.

Ovzon is a provider of a satellite-based mobility broadband services, targeting end-markets and users in need of high data speeds combined with mobility. Applications include real-time sensor and video upload, either from moving or highly mobile platforms, including small vehicles, small aircraft or UAVs, or transmissions directly from on-site staff holding the terminals and transmitting on-the-go. Ovzon is headquartered in Solna, Sweden and has offices in Tampa, Florida and Bethesda, Maryland in the United States. (10/16)

Moon Express Expands Into Canada (Source: Moon Express)
Moon Express, Inc. has announced the creation of Moon Express Canada to leverage Canadian space science and technology in the exploration of the Moon and its resources. The announcement follows quickly after the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Moon Express on October 3rd, enabling Canadian firms and researchers to offer their expertise and capabilities to Moon Express.

Moon Express Canada Inc. head office will be established in Ontario with ties to CSA and Canada's industrial and academic space sector nationwide. The business will serve Canadian high-tech growth, export opportunities and applications of Canada's niche space technologies in the exploration of the Moon in partnership with the United States, Europe and other nations. (10/16)