January 7, 2019

The Year of Astrobiology? (Source: Air & Space)
Not only did New Horizons’ flyby of Ultima Thule set a new distance record, besting the same spacecraft’s earlier record at Pluto by more than a billion miles, but the exploration of the Kuiper Belt will eventually provide insights on what role the Solar System’s most distant objects had in delivering water and organic matter to our planet. These ingredients may have played a critical role in the origin of life on Earth about four billion years ago.

There are two developments that I see propelling this shift in thinking. First is the confirmation of organic compounds on Mars, without which life would not be possible. Second is the renewed interest by NASA in a human mission to the Red Planet. Before such an expedition is launched, we should find out (with robotic spacecraft) whether life exists there, both for the safety of the astronauts and for all of our safety when they bring Martian samples to Earth. (1/7)

Why ‘Oumuamua’s Discovery Points to a Plethora of iInterstellar Objects in Our Galaxy (Source: GeekWire)
The cigar-shaped object known as ‘Oumuamua may be the first interstellar interloper to be discovered, but it’s not likely to be the last. Statistics suggest that there are lots more space rocks like it out there. How many? About 100 septillion in our Milky Way galaxy, according to Yale astronomer Gregory Laughlin, who has analyzed the light curve and weird orbit of ‘Oumuamua — a Hawaiian word that basically means “first messenger from afar.”

That number is a 1 followed by 26 zeroes. Laughlin arrived at that estimate by extrapolating from the observational capabilities of the Pan-STARRS Telescope in Hawaii, the instrument that first detected the object back in October 2017. “The fact that Pan-STARRS was able to observe ‘Oumuamua means that there are on the order of 10^26 such objects in our own galaxy, floating freely,” Laughlin said. The mass of all those objects would add up to roughly 100 billion Earth masses, or the equivalent of one Earth for each star in the galaxy, he said. (1/7)

How Sierra Nevada's "Dream Chaser" Could Become a Nightmare for Northrop Grumman (Source: Motley Fool)
Sierra Nevada intends to perform its obligations under CRS-2 using its new "Dream Chaser" spaceplane that will launch atop a rocket. Dream Chaser is designed to be reusable, with a service life of 15 missions. In this regard, the SNC is similar to SpaceX, which sends cargo to ISS aboard reusable Dragon  capsules. Utilizing reusable spacecraft, both SNC and SpaceX should be able to save considerably on the cost of their missions, because they will not need to build new spacecraft for each supply run.

In contrast, Northrop Grumman performs its ISS resupply missions using disposable Cygnus cargo capsules carried by expendable Antares rockets -- likely a more expensive proposition. There's one major difference between SpaceX and SNC. Both SpaceX's Dragon and SNC's Dream Chaser need to ride a launch vehicle into orbit, but SpaceX uses reusable Falcon launchers for this purpose, while SNC doesn't build launch vehicles. Thus, SNC will need to buy launchers from other companies in order to get Dream Chaser into orbit, adding to its cost.

In theory, SNC could use a SpaceX Falcon rocket to carry Dream Chaser instead of an Atlas, Delta, or Antares. This would probably result in a lower launch cost for SNC. If it does so, this will almost certainly mean that not only SpaceX, but SNC, too, can bid below what Northrop Grumman must charge to perform CRS-2 supply missions for NASA. (1/7)

A Distant Flyby (Source: Space Review)
Last week, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by a small object in the Kuiper Belt, the most distant flyby by a spacecraft to date. Jeff Foust reports on the scene at mission control for the flyby and the science that will come. Click here. (1/7)
 
The Struggle for a Practical Cislunar Transportation System (Source: Space Review)
NASA has proposed developing a three-stage lander for carrying crews to the surface of the Moon. John Strickland argues that approach is inferior to approaches that make use of larger, reusable, single-stage landers that can be configured for different applications. Click here. (1/7) 
 
The Asteroid Mining Bubble Has Burst (Source: Space Review)
In the last two months, two companies founded several years ago to pursue asteroid mining have been acquired. Jeff Foust examines the apparent end of an era for one emerging commercial space market. Click here. (1/7)
 
Moore’s Law, Wright’s Law and the Countdown to Exponential Space (Source: Space Review)
Space advocates have long sought signs of exponential growth in relevant technologies, like Moore’s Law in computing. A group of researchers looks for evidence of such growth in one aspect of satellite design. Click here. (1/7) 
 
How Should Japan’s Space agency Foster NewSpace? (Source: Space Review)
Can NASA’s model for supporting the development of new commercial space capabilities be applied by other national space agencies? Takashi Uchino examines the difficulties in using that approach in Japan. Click here. (1/7)

Maxar’s RADARSAT-2 Loses Use of its Gyroscope and Loses WordView-4 Satellite (Source: SpaceQ)
Canada’s only operational radar satellite, RADARSAT-2, has lost the use of its gyroscope and will now rely on the spacecraft’s three other types of sensors for attitude reference. And in just released news, Maxar announced today that the WorldView-4 satellite control moment gyros have failed and they don’t expect the spacecraft to recover. (1/7)

CNN Selects Space Coast as One of Top Worldwide Spots to Visit in 2019 (Source: Florida Today)
The setting where humans were launched to the moon and saw the scientific exploration of the stars become a historical reality has been selected as one of the top 19 places - and only Florida location - to visit in 2019 by CNN Travel. The international list - curated by the news network's travel editors - puts the Space Coast in the company of destination luminaries like the Grand Canyon National Park, the African nations of Ghana and Egypt, along with Hawaii and Japan. The reason: space travel.

"The space industry is booming, it's something that is so attractive to every age group, every culture around the world. People know this county because of our space industry," said Puneet Kapur, the 2018 chair of Brevard County’s Tourist Development Council which is set up to promote tourism growth in Brevard County. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo mission that jolted astronauts from Cape Canaveral and placed them on a dusty, barren moonscape a quarter-million miles away. (1/1)

In 2019, High-Profile SpaceX, Boeing and ULA Missions Will Turn All Eyes to the Space Coast (Source: Florida Today)
Though the Space Coast can expect to see fewer rocket launches this year, the potency of upcoming missions will turn all eyes toward the Eastern Range as teams inch closer to the first crewed missions to the International Space Station from American soil in nearly a decade. 2018 turned out to be a banner year for the region as 20 missions – the most since 1998 – took flight from either Kennedy Space Center or neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. None were "ordinary," but there were some standout moments: SpaceX's much-vaunted Falcon Heavy demonstration flight in February and NASA's Parker Solar Probe mission to "touch the sun" in August, to name a few. (1/5)

ULA Still Reviewing Delta-4 NRO Launch Date Options (Source: ULA)
United Launch Alliance says the date for its next Delta 4 Heavy launch attempt is "under review." The launch of the NROL-71 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office has been delayed several times for weather and technical glitches, including a hydrogen leak discovered in a booster core during the previous launch attempt in mid-December. ULA said Saturday that the launch, which had been scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 6, was under review and that it will provide a new date "pending the results of additional testing." (1/7)

Sky and Space Global Misses Cubesat Payment (Source: Space News)
Sky and Space Global has missed a payment to the company building its cubesat constellation. GomSpace said Friday that Sky and Space Global paid about a third of a $3.45 million invoice due in its fiscal third quarter, which ended in September, with the rest expected by the end of the year. However, Sky and Space Global missed that payment and, as a result, GomSpace has slowed work on the cubesats it was building. The cubesats will be used for a constellation ultimately numbering 200 to provide communications services. (1/7)

SpaceX Readies Big New Rocket for Hop Tests (Source: Bloomberg)
Elon Musk says flights of a test vehicle for SpaceX's next-generation launch system could begin as soon as next month. Musk said Saturday that a "hopper" version of the Starship vehicle, intended for low-altitude testing, will be ready for initial flights in about four weeks. He added, though, that this timeline "probably means 8 weeks, due to unforeseen issues." SpaceX is assembling that vehicle at its South Texas launch site. (1/7)

Parsons to Acquire OGSystems (Source: Space News)
Parsons announced on Monday it is acquiring OGSystems, a provider of geospatial intelligence and big data analytics. Parsons did not disclose the value of the transaction. It plans to absorb all 400 employees of OGSystems, a company that currently has contracts with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office and Special Operations Command. (1/7)

A Space Force for Canada Too? (Source: Canadian Press)
Canada should consider its own version of the proposed Space Force, according to one industry official. Matthew Overton, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, said it would be a good idea to think about military space as "a separate entity in itself that deserves attention and expertise," but added that a Canadian version of a Space Force is not a near-term priority. Canadian military space responsibilities are handled within its air force today. (1/7)

Shutdown Keeps Government Experts From Important Conference Events (Source: AP)
The ongoing partial government shutdown will have an impact on three conferences taking place this week. The shutdown means that hundreds of scientists and other employees of NASA, NOAA, NSF and other agencies won't be able to attend conferences this week on astronomy, Earth science and aerospace technology. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who was to speak at the American Meteorological Society meeting this week, has canceled that appearance. NASA's SOFIA airborne observatory also canceled planned tours during the American Astronomical Society conference in Seattle. (1/7)

Russia Intents to Reach 32 Launches in 2019 (Source: TASS)
Roscosmos wants to sharply increase the number of launches it carries out this year. A Russian industry source says Roscosmos wants to carry out 32 orbital launches in 2019, up from 20 in 2018. Roscosmos didn't discuss how that increase will be carried out, including the mix of payloads and vehicles used for those launches. (1/7)

Hawaiian Spaceport Study Delayed (Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
A previous attempt to develop a spaceport in Hawaii offers a cautionary tale for a new effort. Alaska Aerospace Corp. is working with Hawaii's Office of Aerospace Development on a proposal to develop a spaceport for small launch vehicles on the Big Island. Work on an environmental assessment of the facility is getting started, but the office noted that a similar assessment, regarding launches from the Kona airport, started in 2014 and has yet to be completed. The Kona assessment is more difficult, the office said, because of the difficulties integrating launches into a commercial airport, but "we are still trying to finish" it. (1/7)