January 31, 2019

Camden’s Latest Spaceport Press Release STUNT (Source: Spaceport Facts)
Camden’s seemingly important Press Release about Spaceport Camden is anything but a milestone. It is, in fact, another example of Camden officials attempting to use press releases to replace facts about the dire state of their ill-advised spaceport adventure. Camden fails to mention in their press release that as of 3:01 PM on Jan. 29, the FAA reports the Camden Environmental Impact Statement remains on “PAUSE.” The repeatedly delayed completion date was missed again on December 31, 2018 because of “Project Sponsor Factors” that persist.

It is nothing more than a PR STUNT designed for Georgia politicians while the Legislature is in session. Most of the ‘endorsements’ in their PR release come from politicians with no special knowledge of spaceports, the National Environmental Protection Act, or FAA regulations other than Camden County press releases. They also have no skin in the game, so it doesn’t matter politically what they say. Click here. (1/30)

Space Congress Event in Florida Delayed to June 4-9 (Source: SPACErePORT)
Organizers of the 46th Space Congress, originally planned for Feb. 26 - Mar. 1 at Cape Canaveral, are blaming the recent (and pending) federal government shutdown for a decision to postpone and reschedule the event for June 4-6. This year's event honors the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. (1/30)

Maxar/Loral Ends Involvement With DARPA-Backed Satellite Servicing Effort (Source: Space News)
Space Systems Loral backed out of a contract with DARPA to build a satellite servicer, citing a need to “focus its resources on ensuring optimal returns when weighed against other capital priorities, such as WorldView Legion.” The Maxar Technologies division also canceled a contract with a company it created called Space Infrastructure Services that would have commercialized the servicer, known as the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, or RSGS. DARPA said it is evaluating multiple options to continue RSGS, including a recompete or restructuring of the program. (1/30)

Goonhilly Plans More Earth Stations (Source: Via Satellite)
UK-based Goonhilly Earth Station is planning to expand globally with two new ground stations, one in Australia and one in California. CEO Ian Jones said the company expects to finalize plans over the next few months, with Australia likely to be the first location. Goonhilly will decide on a location in California once construction is underway on the Australian site, he said.

Goonhilly plans to build large ground station antennas to support communications with space missions, including those in deep space. Jones said Goonhilly’s global expansion will position the company to complement NASA’s Deep Space Network and the European Space Agency’s Estrack network. (1/30)

PRISMA: A Revolution in the Field of Earth Observation and Environmental Monitoring (Source: Leonardo)
We are getting closer to the launch of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) mission PRISMA (Hyperspectral Precursor and Application Mission). The satellite will lift off from the European spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana the night between 8 and 9 March, aboard a VEGA rocket.

From its orbit, at about 620 kilometers of altitude, PRISMA will observe the Earth on a global scale with different eyes, being equipped with an innovative electro-optical instrumentation. The Italian satellite will look at the planet with the most powerful operative hyperspectral instrument in the world, able to work in numerous, narrow and contiguous bands arranged from the visible to the near infrared (VNIR, Visible and Near InfraRed) and up to the infrared shortwave (SWIR, Short Wave InfraRed). (1/30)

National Space Club Events Calendar Update (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club, Florida Committee, schedule of luncheons, dinners and social events has been updated for 2019. (Some of the later-month luncheons still have no featured speakers identified.) Corporate tables are available for most events, costing $250 and seating eight guests. Check out my calendar of Florida aerospace events below. (1/30)

Boeing Shares Surge After Monster Earnings Beat and a Record $101 Billion in Annual Revenue (Source: CNBC)
Boeing reports more than $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. The aerospace giant also provides a strong 2019 forecast, expecting earnings of $19.90 to $20.10 a share. Boeing's commercial airplanes business delivered a record 806 aircraft last year but the company expects to shatter that in 2019, saying deliveries will climb to 895 to 905 next year.

Boeing's defense unit saw a $6.1 billion fourth-quarter revenue increase driven by a rise in volume across F/A-18 fighter jets, satellites and weapon programs. As the world's second largest defense firm, Boeing bagged a significant number of Pentagon contracts last year. In September alone, Boeing was awarded more than 20 contracts with a cumulative value of $13.7 billion. (1/30)

More Cancer Cases Reported in Satellite Beach (Source: Click Orlando)
Some are still fighting to get results for a growing number of people being diagnosed with cancer around the Satellite Beach area. "I think it stands with unanswered questions, still," Stel Bailey, with the activist group Florida Health Connection, said. Some blame Patrick Air Force Base as the source of the problem. The military reported chemicals on base seeped into groundwater.

Then last year, the city of Satellite Beach found trace amounts of those chemicals in its groundwater and Brevard Schools also found trace amounts in drinking water for nine beachside schools. In September, the Florida Health Department said its preliminary review did not show evidence of a cancer cluster. Critics of the state said the prevalence of cases should not be ignored. "The Florida Health Department collected more than 800 cases," Bailey said. (1/29)

US Military Eyes Tiny Nuclear Reactors for Deployed Troops (Source: Defense One)
Getting fuel to remote operating bases is a big problem for the U.S. military. In 2008, during the height of combat in Iraq, the Government Accountability Office estimated that more than 900,000 gallons of fuel went to bases for basic power needs like lighting and refrigeration (on top of the 6.7 million gallons the military burned that year in jets and ground vehicles.) The U.S. military’s Strategic Capabilities Office has put out a request for information about small nuclear reactors that could deploy to the sorts of hillside forward bases U.S. troops set up in places like Afghanistan.

According to the request for “Project Dilithium,” the reactor should fit on a truck and a C-17 aircraft and generate from one to 10 megawatts of electric power for three years without refueling. Soldiers have to be able to stand it up in 72 hours and take it down in a week. It’s got to be meltdown-proof. The office is looking to fund three different prototype designs and will then select a winner from among them.

It was only recently that the military returned to the subject. In 2016, a Defense Science Board Study concluded, “There is an opportunity for exploration of the use of nuclear energy applications at forward and remote operating bases and expeditionary forces.” The board concluded that the best approach for these super small reactors was radioisotope thermoelectric generators. They work simply: as the reactor fuel — either plutonium-238 or strontium-90 — decays, it slowly but surely releasing lots of heat, which is converted by thermocouples into electricity. NASA uses these generators to to power satellites and other spacecraft; the Soviets once used them to power Arctic lighthouses. (1/24)

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket to Deploy Telesat's LEO Broadband Constellation (Source: Space News)
Telesat has selected Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket for launching its LEO broadband constellation. The companies announced a multi-launch agreement Thursday, but did not disclose the specific number of launches or satellites to be launched covered by the deal. Telesat is preparing a constellation of roughly 300 communications satellites for global internet connectivity services, and plans to select a manufacturer later this year. Blue Origin has eight New Glenn missions in its backlog from four other customers, with the rocket's first launch scheduled for 2021. (1/31)

Optimism for 2019 Despite 'Pinch' From Government Shutdown (Source: Space News)
Space industry executives are still optimistic about the year ahead despite a rough start to 2019. During a panel discussion Wednesday, executives from both startups and established companies said they expected continued growth in the industry despite a recent government shutdown and layoffs by several high-profile companies. The president and CEO of Made In Space, a startup developing on-orbit manufacturing technologies, said his firm felt "a pinch" from the recent shutdown but compensated by slowing hiring temporarily. (1/31)

The Future of Space Prospecting? Embry-Riddle Supports Surprising New Rocket Fuel Approach (Source: ERAU)
A prototype spacecraft capable of “hopping” from one asteroid to another effectively transforms water into steam, Embry-Riddle student-researchers have reported. The spacecraft’s steam-powered propulsion system suggests an endlessly renewable fuel that could be ideal for asteroid mining or “space prospecting,” said Aerospace Engineering Senior Ankit Rukhaiyar.

Identifying renewable sources of spacecraft fuel has become increasingly important as NASA prepares to send humans to Mars and Earth’s finite supply of minerals keeps shrinking. Embry-Riddle’s steam-powered propulsion system suggests a way to keep spacecraft flying longer – in theory forever. Rukhaiyar, with other students and faculty members, presented the research at a recent conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

The Embry-Riddle propulsion system was developed for Honeybee Robotics, with support from NASA, Jay D’Amico of the Louisiana Steam Equipment Company and the university’s Undergraduate Research Office. The team also collaborated with Dr. Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida and the principal investigator for the overall project. (1/30)

Phase Four Wins Orders for Microsatellite Thrusters (Source: Space News)
Smallsat electric propulsion company Phase Four has won orders for its thrusters from two companies. Phase Four said Capella Space, a company developing a radar satellite constellation, and smallsat manufacturer Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems each purchased multiple units of its Maxwell electric thruster. Phase Four argues that its thruster offers the same high performance of legacy systems, like Hall thrusters, but at lower costs. The company has also started a Phase A funding round that will fund the company through 2020. (1/31)

Russia's New Vostochny Cosmodrome is a Launch Site in Search of a Mission (Source: Space News)
Roscosmos opened the site to Western reporters for the first time last month to witness a Soyuz launch there. Vostochny currently only has launch facilities for the Soyuz-2 rocket, and progress on pads for the Angara rocket family has been slow going. The Soyuz facilities are modern and streamlined, but how frequently the remote site will be used remains uncertain. While the spaceport has been controversial, the project has become the sole source of hope for better work and economic opportunity in the region. (1/31)

Bluefield Plans Microsatellites for Tracking Methane Emissions (Source: Space News)
A company planning a satellite system for tracking methane emissions has lined up new customers. Bluefield said an aerial demonstration of its technology offered a validation of its approach and is enabling it to sign up additional customers. The company plans to launch its first microsatellite with methane tracking sensors in 2020, and have eight in orbit by 2023. (1/31)

Study Quantifies Growth of UK Space Industry (Source: UK Space Agency)
A new study has quantified the growth of the British space industry. The report, released Wednesday by the U.K. Space Agency, found that annual income rose by £1 billion to £14.8 billion from a previous report in 2016, while employment increased by 3,400 jobs to 41,900. The agency said much of the growth came from space manufacturing, including satellites, ground systems and components. (1/31)

India Opens Center for Human Spaceflight (Source: IANS)
India's space agency ISRO has opened a center for its new human spaceflight program. The Human Space Flight Center, located in Bengaluru adjacent to ISRO headquarters, will be devoted to development of the country's Gaganyaan crewed spacecraft. ISRO plans to launch the first crewed Gaganyaan mission by the end of 2021, ahead of a 2022 goal announced last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (1/31)

With Cold War Tension High, a Young Weatherman Stood Between America and Space (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
On a chilly January day at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in 1958, all that stood between America and space was a scrappy, 24-year-old lieutenant from a rural town in Illinois. The nation had been gripped by fear and anxiety since Russia had bested it by putting two Sputnik satellites into orbit in the three months prior. The U.S. Army was on an ambitious timeline to put an American satellite into space that month or risk losing to the Navy, which also wanted the glory of accomplishing the feat.

On the morning of Jan. 29, 1958, the Army had 48 hours left to deliver — and it planned to launch. But John Meisenheimer, the range’s only meteorologist, wasn’t budging. A strong jet stream with recorded wind sheer of up to 225 mph in some pockets threatened to blow the 70-foot, Juno-1 rocket off course. It could explode, doubling America’s embarrassment after its first attempt in December, the Navy’s Vanguard rocket, had only risen 4 feet off the ground before falling back to Earth and bursting into flames. Wind — not politics, or the Russians or Cold War fears — threatened to thwart America.

Meisenheimer went up to Army general John Bruce Medaris and said it was a no-go. “He right cussed me out,” recalled Meisenheimer, now 85 and living in Orlando. Being responsible for the country’s next misstep would likely be worse than delaying its next success, Meisenheimer reasoned. “I wanted to get that satellite up successful for the United States,” he said, “and I didn’t care if it was the Army, or the Navy or the Air Force or who was putting it up there.” But American glory would have to wait another day still. Meisenheimer issued a second no-go call on Jan. 30, 1958, infuriating Medaris who had been sending up weather balloons almost every hour seeking a glimmer of hope. (1/31)

A Forecast for Up To 393 Microsatellites Deployed in 2019 (Source: SpaceWorks)
SpaceWorks Enterprises has released its annual nanosatellite and microsatellite market forecast. The 9th edition of this report details the latest observations and trends in the nano/microsatellite market. Projections indicate as many as 2,800 nano/microsatellites will require launch over the next 5 years. Coming off an excellent performance in 2018, SpaceWorks analysts project between 294 - 393 nano/microsatellites (1 - 50 kg) will launch globally in 2019, an 18% increase over last year.

Of the 262 spacecraft SpaceWorks predicted to launch in 2018, 253 actually launched. "SpaceWorks showed unprecedented accuracy in last year's forecast, with our prediction coming within 5% of actual nano/microsatellites launched." stated Caleb Williams, Lead Economic Analyst at SpaceWorks, "Changes to our forecasting methodology, in combination with greater launch consistency and better execution on the part of small satellite operators contributed to our ability to accurately forecast market growth."
 
2019 projections remain strong and have been updated to reflect the advancements of dedicated small satellite launch vehicles, changing attitudes of civil and military operators, and the rapid progress of commercial satellite IoT ventures. The report is available in presentation form as a free download here. (1/28)

Stakeholders: Recent Commercial Space Industry Layoffs Don’t Spark Wider Concerns (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Commercial space industry members and a top Air Force Space Command official this month downplayed the idea that a recent spate of layoffs—including about 600 SpaceX employees—may indicate deeper sustainability problems in the nearly $400 billion global space sector.

At the Space Foundation’s “State of Space” event, speakers offered a rosy look at the future of an industry Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross projects will eventually gross $1 trillion each year. The market is still vibrant and companies continue to hire, argued Allen Herbert, vice president of business development and strategy at NanoRacks. The global space industry grew more than 7 percent in 2017, and government space budgets rose by nearly 14 percent, according to the Space Foundation’s annual report for 2018. Government spending on space accounted for nearly 20 percent of the world’s space economy. (1/30)

New Supersonic Jets Could Create Sonic Booms 'Every Five Minutes' (Source: CNBC)
A report published on Wednesday has warned that commercial supersonic aircraft could create sonic booms as often as once every five minutes in certain regions. It also warned of significant impacts on the environment and public health. The most heavily impacted countries would include Germany, Israel, and parts of the U.S. and Canada. Those regions would be exposed to between 150 and 250 sonic booms per day, or up to one boom every five minutes over a 16-hour flight day, according to the report. Despite uncertainty over regulation, the industry is moving closer to making commercial supersonic air travel a reality again. (1/30)

Harris Receives $72M Contract for Air Force Space and Missile Systems (Source: Space Daily)
Harris Corp. Space and Intelligence Systems was awarded a $72 million contract for combat missions systems support, according to the Department of Defense. The contract will sustain the Space and Missile Systems Center portfolio of ground-based electronic warfare systems and develop the Counter Communications System Block 10.3, an offensive space control unit. Work on the contract is to be completed by 2024 at Harris facilities on Florida's Space Coast and in Colorado Springs.

What if They Don't Come in Peace? (Source: Space Daily)
The issue of extraterrestrial civilisations has become more important in recent decades for two reasons. On the one hand, humankind has come to know much more about habitable planets. "We've known for about 20 years that the planets in the Universe are scattered everywhere. According to current estimates, we have 200-300 billion planets in our galaxy," Michael Schetsche said. About 1% of these planets orbit a star in an area where life is possible - known as a "habitable zone". As a result, one to three billion planets could be inhabited.

On the other hand, research has shown that life is an "extremely robust" phenomenon. "Throughout the world, where appropriate conditions exist, different forms of life develop". That's why life may well exist in the Universe, despite the sometimes very severe conditions. "Nowadays, our scientific conceptions of the Universe say that it's very probable that there are other intelligences besides the human, and that means that we could find them someday," Schetsche said.

Since we don't have any examples of extraterrestrial civilizations available for research, we must make use of historical analogies that have occurred on Earth when more advanced civilizations have contacted with other 'less developed' ones, Schetsche explained. It is what is called "asymmetric cultural contact... The conquerors represented 'the most technologically powerful civilization' and repressed the representatives of the weaker civilization," the sociologist recalled. We should also remember that, in those cases, the meeting between both cultures always had negative economic, political, and religious consequences for the weaker civilization. (1/28)

Russia Positions its Moon Program as Alternative to US Lunar-Orbit Station (Source: Sputnik)
Russia's program for Moon exploration could give a chance for further space exploration activities to the international community and become a good alternative to the US-proposed lunar-orbit space station project, director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Anatoly Petrukovich has told Sputnik in an interview.

"Any movement toward the Moon is so expensive and complicated that it hardly can be done without international cooperation. So far in the world, with the exception of the US proposal to create a lunar-orbit station, there are no well-developed programs that other countries could carry out. We intend to offer Russian vision that could be discussed with foreign partners", Petrukovich said. (1/29)

Race for 'Hypersonic' Weapons Heats Up as France Joins Fray (Source: Space Daily)
World powers are vying to develop so-called "hypersonic" weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China. Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of sound (Mach 5) but are able to manoeuvre in mid-flight, making them much harder to track and intercept than traditional projectiles.

France is the fourth of the five permanent UN Security Council members to join the so-called "stealth by speed" contest, after China, Russia and the United States. "We have decided to issue a contract for a hypersonic glider" that can travel at over 6,000 kilometres/hour, Defence Minister Florence Parly said last week, promising a test flight by the end of 2021. (1/28)