February 14, 2019

Air Force Launch Procurement Under Scrutiny (Source: Space News)
The GAO review comes amid other investigations and calls for reviews of Air Force launch procurement. California lawmakers asked for a independent review last week of the Air Force's Launch Service Agreements, which went to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and ULA but not SpaceX. The Pentagon's inspector general is also carrying out an audit of the Air Force's process in certifying SpaceX rockets. Developers of small launch vehicles, meanwhile, are calling on the Air Force to develop a plan to efficiently procure such vehicles. (2/13)

Cubesat to Test Sample Recovery Approach (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A cubesat recently deployed from the International Space Station will test technology needed for future sample recovery spacecraft. The TechEdSat 8 satellite deployed an "Exo-Brake" shortly after being released from the station last month. That mechanism is intended to increase atmospheric drag and lower the satellite's orbit. The satellite is the latest in a NASA program to develop technologies needed to control the re-entry of small satellites and, with the use of ablative materials, allow the recovery of small capsules. That could enable on-demand return of samples from the ISS rather than waiting for the return of larger cargo or crew spacecraft. (2/14)

Michigan Governor Kills State Spaceport Project (Source: Bridge)
Michigan's new governor has canceled plans to fund a commercial launch site in the state. A bill passed last December by the state legislature included a $2.5 million grant to fund work on a proposed launch site in northern Michigan, a project included at the request of the state's outgoing governor, Rick Snyder. New Gov. Gretchen Whitmer decided to kill the project this week because of a lack of details about what was known as the Michigan Launch Initiative. (2/13)

InSight Prepares to Take Mars's Temperature (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's InSight lander has placed its second instrument on the Martian surface. New images confirm that the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, or HP3, was successfully deployed on Feb. 12 about 3 feet (1 meter) from InSight's seismometer, which the lander recently covered with a protective shield. HP3 measures heat moving through Mars's subsurface and can help scientists figure out how much energy it takes to build a rocky world.

Equipped with a self-hammering spike, mole, the instrument will burrow up to 16 feet (5 meters) below the surface, deeper than any previous mission to the Red Planet. For comparison, NASA's Viking 1 lander scooped 8.6 inches (22 centimeters) down. The agency's Phoenix lander, a cousin of InSight, scooped 7 inches (18 centimeters) down. (2/14)

NASA Selects New Mission to Explore Origins of Universe (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has selected a new space mission that will help astronomers understand both how our universe evolved and how common are the ingredients for life in our galaxy's planetary systems. The Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) mission is a planned two-year mission funded at $242 million (not including launch costs) and targeted to launch in 2023.

SPHEREx will survey the sky in optical as well as near-infrared light which, though not visible to the human eye, serves as a powerful tool for answering cosmic questions. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 300 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way. (2/14)

UAE to Host Conference for Heads of Arab States' Space Agencies in March (Source: Space Daily)
A separate conference for heads of Arab states' space agencies will be held within the Global Space Congress, slated for March, to discuss space industry development in the Arab world, the press service of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency said. The UAE Space Agency will host the Global Space Congress in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi on 19-21 March. "A special conference uniting heads of Arab space agencies and organizations will be held in order to discuss the situation in the Arab states' space industry and the mechanisms for joining efforts toward development of this sphere." (2/13)

The “Impossible” Tech Behind SpaceX’s New Engine (Source: Hackaday)
Many of the best known rockets to have ever flown have used engines based on what is known as the gas-generator cycle, including the Saturn V, the Soyuz, the Delta IV, and even the Falcon 9. In fact, outside of the Space Shuttle, you could probably argue that nearly every milestone in the history of spaceflight was made with a gas-generator cycle engine. It’s a technology that dates back to the V-2 rocket, and is one of the key breakthroughs that made liquid-fueled rockets possible. But despite its incredible success, the technology is not without its faults.

The defining characteristic of what’s known as an open cycle engine is that the exhaust from the preburner gets dumped overboard as a waste product. In some rockets this unburned fuel can be seen as a black streak alongside of the otherwise bright exhaust plume. It’s never been a secret that there were performance gains to be had by closing the cycle, that is, capturing the preburner exhaust and feeding it into the engine’s combustion chamber. But the sooty exhaust produced from the unburned kerosene is unsuitable for recirculating through the engine. It ended up being easier to simply build larger rockets than try to capture this lost fuel.

In the 1950’s, Soviet scientists came up with something of a compromise. Instead of using a fuel-rich mixture in the preburner which produced an exhaust that couldn’t be safely recirculated into the engine, they experimented with running the preburner oxygen-rich. Unfortunately this idea solved one problem while creating another, as there was no metal that could survive the incredibly hot oxygen-rich gas produced by the preburner. In fact, American scientists had deemed it impossible, and believed claims that their Soviet counterparts were working on the concept to be Cold War propaganda. Click here. (2/13)

Wrobel Removed From Wallops Director Job, Transferred to NASA HQ (Source: Eastern Shore Post)
William “Bill” Wrobel, director of NASA Wallops Flight Facility, is leaving the Eastern Shore for a new job in Washington, D.C., a spokesperson for NASA confirmed this week. A source close to the move told the Eastern Shore Post that the new job is a demotion and was based on Wrobel’s opposition to budget cuts several months ago. Wrobel was not available for comment.

“Wrobel is serving on a detail with the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.,” Jeremy Eggers, head of the NASA Wallops Office Communications, said Monday. “Dave Pierce has been named acting director of (the) Wallops Flight Facility,” Eggers said. “Dave has previously served as the Wallops deputy director and in management and engineering positions in our Balloon and Aircraft offices.” (2/8)

Florida Space Day Returns to Tallahassee on February 18-19 (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Since the 1960s, when the nation watched Alan Shepard become the first American in space, Florida has been the leader in space exploration. And as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, it is a chance to reflect on Florida’s aerospace legacy and look toward modernizing and re-purposing that legacy to handle a new commercial space future. To promote those efforts, Florida Space Day returns to Tallahassee on February 18-19. (2/13)

Pensacola MRO Project Lands $20M More (Source: GCAC)
The ST Engineering MRO expansion project got another $20 million Wednesday when the Florida Department of Transportation upped its commitment to a total of $45 million. "I am proud to announce City of Pensacola has secured the remaining funding for Project Titan, which will expand the Aviation Maintenance Overhaul Repair (MRO) campus at the Pensacola International Airport," said Mayor Grover Robinson."I am excited for this transformational project to move forward." He received the confirmation letter today.

FDOT is amending its work program to removing funding from several other projects to fund the airport project, an eight-week process. FDOT's work program and budget will still need to be reviewed by the Florida Legislature, but if approved, Pensacola will receive the funding in 2021. The $210 million expansion would add three more hangars to the one already in place at Pensacola International Airport. It would add another 1,325 jobs. (2/14)

New Map of Dark Matter Spanning 10 Million Galaxies Hints at a Flaw in Our Physics (Source: Science Alert)
An invisible force is having an effect on our Universe. We can't see it, and we can't detect it - but we can observe how it interacts gravitationally with the things we can see and detect, such as light. Now an international team of astronomers has used one of the world's most powerful telescopes to analyse that effect across 10 million galaxies in the context of Einstein's general relativity. The result? The most comprehensive map of dark matter across the history of the Universe to date.

It has yet to complete peer-review, but the map has suggested something unexpected - that dark matter structures might be evolving more slowly than previously predicted. "If further data shows we're definitely right, then it suggests something is missing from our current understanding of the Standard Model and the general theory of relativity," said physicist Chiaki Hikage. (2/14)

Two Satellites Almost Crashed. Here’s How They Dodged It. (Source: WIRED)
The first alert came on January 27. Two small satellites, whirling through Earth's low orbits, had “the potential for a conjunction.” Those are the words Major Cody Chiles, spokesperson for the Joint Force Space Component Command, uses to mean "the chance of a collision." The satellites, one from a company called Capella Space and the other from Spire Global, could smack into each other.

It falls to the Air Force's 18th Space Control Squadron to issue alerts on potential collisions, when it deems those events to be likely enough. In this case the chance of a direct hit was, depending on whom you ask, either really small or kind of scary. The squadron, based on its data and a somewhat generic model, estimated the likelihood at between 0.2 and 10 percent over a 72-hour period. But it's a guessing game. If the satellites were to collide, shards of satellite (years of work, some dollar signs) would shoot out, lost, into space. They would turn into yet more bits feeding the already significant swirl of space debris imperiling other orbiters. Click here. (2/14)

Orbex’s Prime Launcher Combines Innovations (Source: Aviation Week)
Executives from Orbex, an Anglo-Danish startup opening its UK headquarters and rocket integration facility in Forres, Scotland, say astronautical and commercial imperatives have aligned to drive novel design elements for its Prime small satellite launch vehicle. “Essentially, we sat down and tried to rethink the look for a modern-day rocket with a modern-day fuel, if you are not bound by anything,” Jonas Bjarnoe, Orbex’s chief technical officer, said. Click here. (2/13)

Florida's 2019 Rocket Launch Schedule: Astronauts, Moon Landers and Mighty Rockets (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The new year is ramping up to be a historic one for the private space industry as it endeavors — along with its partners at NASA — to return humans to space from the United States. The Space Coast will be ground zero for those launches and other notable flights in 2019. Though the overall number of liftoffs will likely be lower than in 2018, when the Cape played host to 20 launches, the high-profile nature of 2019’s launch manifest is likely to bring crowds back to the region.

Private space, led by SpaceX and Boeing, will play prominent roles as the purveyors of the first crewed U.S. space flights to low-Earth orbit since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. In between, satellite, lunar lander and International Space Station resupply missions from SpaceX and United Launch Alliance will round out the year. Mark your calendars, here are the launches coming to the Space Coast in 2019. (2/13)

NASA is Everywhere: Farming Tech with Roots in Space (Source: Space Daily)
Growing plants can be tough, whether you're on a spaceship or Earth. A special fertilizer made it easier for astronauts on the International Space Station and farmers down below, resulting in just one of the space program's many contributions to agriculture. Numerous farming tools have roots at NASA. Over the years, companies large and small have partnered with the agency, honed technologies and delivered innovations to benefit the industry. Click here. (2/13)

Launch of Rocket From High-Altitude Balloon Makes Space More Accessible to Microsats (Source: Space Daily)
Team members of Leo Aerospace LLC, who created the startup while they were students at Purdue University, prepare to launch a rocket from a high-altitude balloon in the Mojave Desert in southern California. The test launch of the "rockoon" in December was a success. Leo Aerospace is seeking to make space more accessible for those wanting to deploy small satellites.

A startup that plans to use high-altitude balloons to deploy rockets has successfully fired a test launch, moving closer to its goal of helping end the backlog of microsatellites that wait months or longer to "hitch" a ride on larger rockets. Leo Aerospace LLC, a Purdue University-affiliated startup based in Los Angeles, launched its first "rockoon," a high-power rocket from a reusable balloon platform, from the Mojave Desert in southern California in December. (2/13)

Angry Norway Says Russia Jamming GPS Signals Again (Source: AFP)
Norway's foreign intelligence unit on Monday expressed renewed concerns that its GPS signals in the country's Far North were being jammed, as Oslo again blamed Russia for the "unacceptable" acts. In its annual national risk assessment report, the intelligence service said that in repeated incidents since 2017, GPS signals have been blocked from Russian territory in Norwegian regions near the border with Russia. The jamming events have often coincided with military exercises on Norwegian soil, such as the NATO Trident Juncture manoeuvres last autumn and the mid-January deployment of British attack helicopters in Norway for training in Arctic conditions. (2/11)

SpaceX Protests NASA Launch Contract Award (Source: Space News)
SpaceX has filed a protest over the award of a launch contract to United Launch Alliance for a NASA planetary science mission, claiming it could carry out the mission for significantly less money. The protest, filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Feb. 11, is regarding a NASA procurement formally known as RLSP-35. That contract is for the launch of the Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter, awarded by NASA to ULA Jan. 31 at a total cost to the agency of $148.3 million.

The GAO documents did not disclose additional information about the protest, other than the office has until May 22 to render a decision. NASA did not immediately respond for a request for comment on the protest. SpaceX confirmed that the company was protesting the contract. “Since SpaceX has started launching missions for NASA, this is the first time the company has challenged one of the agency’s award decisions,” a company spokesperson said.

“SpaceX offered a solution with extraordinarily high confidence of mission success at a price dramatically lower than the award amount, so we believe the decision to pay vastly more to Boeing and Lockheed for the same mission was therefore not in the best interest of the agency or the American taxpayers,” the spokesperson added. (2/13)

SpaceX Seeks FCC OK for 1 Million Satellite Broadband Earth Stations (Source: Ars Technica)
SpaceX is seeking US approval to deploy up to 1 million Earth stations to receive transmissions from its planned satellite broadband constellation. The Federal Communications Commission last year gave SpaceX permission to deploy 11,943 low-Earth orbit satellites for the planned Starlink system. A new application from SpaceX Services, a sister company, asks the FCC for "a blanket license authorizing operation of up to 1,000,000 Earth stations that end-user customers will utilize to communicate with SpaceX's NGSO [non-geostationary orbit] constellation."

The application was published by FCC.report, a third-party site that tracks FCC filings. GeekWire reported the news on Friday. An FCC spokesperson confirmed to Ars today that SpaceX filed the application on February 1, 2019. If each end-user Earth station provides Internet service to one building, SpaceX could eventually need authorization for more than 1 million stations in the US. SpaceX job listings describe the user terminal as "a high-volume manufactured product customers will have in their homes." (2/11)

Florida Space Coast Launches—2018 Photo Contest (Source: Aviation Week)
Space has become one of the most dynamic sectors of the aerospace industry in recent years as upstarts challenge paradigms and traditional launch providers. In these photos, a mix of launch vehicles from new space and established providers carry civil, military and intelligence payloads into space. Click here. (2/13)

Arianespace Plans Cubesat Deployment Aboard Soyuz Launch (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace will include a cubesat deployer from British startup Open Cosmos on a Soyuz mission scheduled near the end of the year. The Open Cosmos platform will have a total capacity of 12 “one-unit” cubesats, split among multiple satellites. Arianespace will release the cubesats into a sun-synchronous orbit above 500 kilometers. The main payloads for the Soyuz mission are the Italian Space Agency’s Cosmo-SkyMed second-generation radar satellite and the European Space Agency’s exoplanet telescope CHEOPS. The launch will also carry two cubesats for the French space agency CNES. (2/13)

Six Protons and One Angara 5 Launch Planned by Russia This Year (Source: TASS)
Russia plans to conduct six Proton launches this year, as well as a second flight of the Angara 5A, according to Khrunichev, the manufacturer for both rockets. The Angara 5A mission is scheduled for December 2019. The rocket launched for the first and only time so far in 2014 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, had previously tweeted that the Angara 5A launch would be this summer. Russia plans to start tests of the Angara A5V, a variant with more lift capacity, in 2026 at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. (2/13)

Airbus Invests to Improve European Space Facilities (Source: Airbus)
Airbus plans to spend 25 million euros ($28.2 million) revamping facilities in Germany for solar array production and optical satellite instruments. The upgrades include expanding a solar array production facility from 800 square meters to 5,500 square meters, and introducing a robotic assembly line. Airbus said the improvements should halve time and costs, safeguard 170 jobs, and position the company for work on constellations of satellites. (2/13)

NASA Tests Another RS-25 Engine (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
One of the leftover rocket engines used during the 30-year Space Shuttle program was tested again today, Feb. 13, 2019, at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Known as RS-25 engines, it was formerly called the Space Shuttle Main Engine. Its development began back in the 1960s to be a reusable engine. However, for its use on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) they will not be reused and will end up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

During their tenure with the Shuttle Program, the engines acquired a 99.95 percent success rate. NASA had planned to use the engines as part of the now-cancelled Constellation Program. When the Ares V rocket was selected to continue as the re-dubbed SLS, the RS-25 was also spared (the announcement of such was made on Sept. 14, 2011) and continues to be tested. (2/13)