February 27, 2019

Morpheus Space Qualifies the World's Smallest Satellite Propulsion System in Orbit (Source: Space Daily)
After 7 years of tireless development at the tu dresden, the spin-off, Morpheus Space has successfully ignited the world's smallest ion beam thruster on the "UWE-4" nano-satellite. Four of the thumb-sized thrusters are located on UWE-4, the 1 kg nano-satellite of the University of Wurzburg. This enabled the Germany-based company to operate the first electric thruster in this satellite size in space. The primary objective of the satellite mission is to test the propulsion system in orbit in order to obtain space qualification, the final and most important milestone. (2/27)

Astrobotic Teams with Airbus for ESA Moon Mission (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected a team led by Airbus Defence and Space, in partnership with Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, to study the delivery of a payload package to the Moon. Involving Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, the study is a mission analysis in preparation for Europe’s first mission to demonstrate in situ resource utilization (ISRU) on the Moon in 2025.

“It’s an analysis, basically figuring out what it would take to achieve the mission that ESA seeks to do, from a lander perspective, ” Astrobotic CEO, John Thornton, told Spaceflight Insider. “Airbus is also looking at the payload perspective. It’s a total mission analysis. It’s a first step.” The Peregrine lander is designed to carry up to 584 pounds (265 kilograms) to the lunar surface. Using a combination of cameras, inertial measurement units and Lidar, the lander is designed to be capable of autonomously setting down within 328 feet (100 meters) of its target. (2/27)

Space Foundation Sponsors Florida Networking Event for New Gen Space Professionals (Source: Space Foundation)
Join the Space Foundation and fellow New Gen professionals for a valuable networking and dynamic professional development opportunity. The Foundation's Fuel Your Future event will be held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on March 6. Click here for reservations and information. (2/27)

Computer Reset Cancels Orbit-Raising Burn on Israel’s Moon Lander (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A computer reset on the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander forced has the postponement of the mission’s first engine firing to begin maneuvering closer to the moon. Mission managers said the robotic lander — seeking to become the first privately-funded spacecraft to reach another planetary body — automatically aborted an orbit-raising maneuver after its on-board computer reset unexpectedly. The engine firing was planned Monday evening, U.S. time.

“During the pre-maneuver phase the spacecraft computer reset unexpectedly, causing the maneuver to be automatically cancelled,” the team said in a statement. Beresheet — which means “in the beginning” or “genesis” in Hebrew — launched Feb. 21 from Cape Canaveral on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, riding piggyback with the Indonesian Nusantara Satu communications payload and the U.S. Air Force’s S5 spacecraft to monitor satellite traffic in geostationary orbit. (2/26)

Goonhilly Earth Station Enters Stratospheric Partnership With Australian Space Agency (Source: Forbes)
To most businesses, teaming up with an organization on the other side of the world might seem an illogical logistical and strategic move, but in the satellite industry being almost poles apart from your joint-venture partner is ideal. This is why the privately-owned U.K. satellite communications facility and space gateway Goonhilly Earth Station, based on the Lizard Peninsula of England's Cornish coast, has teamed up with the state-owned Australian Space Agency to develop deep space communications and satellite orbits.

"To support space missions to the Moon or Mars, it’s necessary to have at least three ground stations 120 degrees apart, so that as the Earth rotates each day there is always at least one ground station pointing in the right direction. That’s the primary reason for building a presence on the other side of the world," explains Ian Jones, CEO of Goonhilly Earth Station. (2/27)

Companies Skeptical Commercial Lunar Landers Can Fly NASA Payloads This Year (Source: Space.com)
As NASA selects payloads it plans to fly on commercial lunar landers, companies developing those spacecraft are skeptical any landers will be ready to fly this year, as the agency desires.

NASA announced Feb. 21 that it has identified a dozen science and technology demonstration payloads from within the agency that will be eligible to fly on missions through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Those payloads include a range of scientific instruments, such as spectrometers and magnetometers, as well as demonstrations of solar cells and navigational beacons.

NASA selected payloads mature enough to be ready to fly on CLPS missions as soon as late this year. A separate call for payloads from outside the agency, formally known as Lunar Surface Instrument and Technology Payload (LSITP), is in progress, with proposals due to NASA Feb. 27 and a selection coming in the spring. (2/26)

Hawkeye 360 Pinpoints Radio Signals With New Satellites (Source: Space News)
A startup company says its first satellites are successfully pinpointing radio signals on the Earth. Hawkeye 360 launched its first three smallsats on a Falcon 9 in December, flying them in formation to allow them to locate the sources of radiofrequency signals on the ground. The company said Tuesday that those satellites are working well and have entered commercial service. Hawkeye 360 has seen considerable interest from prospective government and commercial customers about its planned constellation of satellites for applications like tracking ships. (2/27)

Elon Musk Says His Mars Base Will Have a 'Fun, Outdoorsy Atmosphere' (Source: CNBC)
Elon Musk knows that getting to Mars won't be a walk in the park — but he says you'll at least be able to walk in a park after you get there. That's the latest vision of potential life on Mars from the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, who has plans to transport humans to the distant planet by 2024. Musk, who has said there's even a good chance he'll eventually move to Mars himself, said that a future Mars base could include parks to help create "an outdoorsy, fun atmosphere" on the arid planet.

Musk has said that his goal is for SpaceX to send its first unmanned rocket to Mars by 2022, and that rockets carrying both crew and cargo could potentially reach the planet just two years after that. Musk said that food could be grown on solar-powered hydroponic farms located either underground or in an enclosed structure. "Earth hydroponics will work fine," Musk says in the interview, referring to the process of growing plants in water instead of soil.

A future Mars colony could even create a taste of home by building enclosed glass domes with plant life inside, where humans could walk around without space-suits, much like a park on Earth. In fact, Musk adds, if future Mars colonies are able to successfully terraform the planet, which would involve re-engineering the planet's surface and climate to make it habitable for humans, then eventually, "you can walk around without a suit," Musk tells Popular Mechanics. "But for say, the next 100-plus years, you'll have to have a giant pressurized glass dome." (2/26)

Twenty Years In, Was Oklahoma's Space Investment Worth It? (Source: OKCFox.com)
It is barely a blip on the Oklahoma budget, but after nearly two decades of investment we wanted to see what the state has accomplished in its investment in space. If you are new to the state, or maybe just forgot, nearly twenty years ago Oklahoma lawmakers authored legislation creating the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. It was intended to ensure Oklahoma was on the cutting edge of commercial space travel.

The OSIDA set up in Burns Flat and would take control of the former naval air base along with it’s nearly 3-mile-long runway. In 2006 the agency received federal authorization to be a launch site for space projects. Executive Director Bill Khourie hopes the site will one day host launches or landings of commercial spacecraft.

At its peak, the state only spent about half a million dollars on salaries for OSIDA. Today state funding is just over $300,000 a year, but the agency has a multi-million-dollar contract with the Department of Defense that allows military use of the runway. The last space-related testing of anything though, was nearly 10 years ago. And the hangers and other buildings that surround the airstrip are slowly crumbling. Click here. (2/26)

European Officials Reject Complaints of Ariane Subsidization (Source: Reuters)
European officials are rejecting complaints from SpaceX that they are subsidizing the Ariane launch vehicle. French media reported last week that SpaceX, in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative, complained that European government support for the Ariane launch vehicle amount to subsidies that threaten free trade, and should be taken up in future trade discussions between the U.S. and the E.U.

An ESA official said Tuesday that it is investing in launch vehicles in order to remain competitive in the global market, and noted that American vehicles receive U.S. government support as well: "I think that you better clean your own house before you start to complain about someone else's." (2/27)

Russia Plans Seven Missions to ISS This Year (Source: TASS)
Russia is planning to launch a total of seven missions to the International Space Station this year, including an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft. A statement released by Roscosmos Tuesday said it's planning to launch three Soyuz spacecraft with ISS crews on board, with the first lifting off March 14, followed by flights in July and September. Three Progress cargo missions are scheduled for launch from April through December. An uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft will launch in August as a test of the ability of the Soyuz-2 rocket to safely fly Soyuz spacecraft. (2/27)

Shutdown to Delay First Element of NASA’s Lunar Gateway (Source: Space News)
A five-week partial government shutdown could delay the launch of the first element of NASA’s orbiting lunar outpost by as much as three months. In a procurement notice filed Feb. 26, NASA notified companies bidding on the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) module for the lunar Gateway that the start of the contract for this module has been delayed because the agency stopped work reviewing the proposals during the 35-day shutdown in December and January that idled most of NASA.

NASA, which had anticipated awarding contracts in March, now expects starting work by the end of May. That delay will have a domino effect on the overall PPE project, including when the module will be launched. NASA stated in the procurement filing that it expects “a corresponding shift in the target launch date from September 2022 to no later than December 31, 2022.” (2/27)

The Changing Dynamics of 21st Century Space Power (Source: Strategic Studies Quarterly)
Many recent assessments of space power have posited a US decline and predicted a gloomy future in comparison to China and Russia. However, such analyses—based almost exclusively on state-run activities—present only part of the picture. In the twenty-first century, a new form of bottom-up, net-centric, commercially led space innovation is emerging that promises cheaper and more timely technological developments to those nations that can effectively tap into them, thus reshaping traditional definitions of space power.

This study first sets a baseline by focusing on Cold War space power determinants, next analyzes recent changes among the three leading spacefaring nations, and then looks into the future, factoring in the expanded role of commercial space startups and military space alliances. The article concludes that new forms of networked space power could put the United States in a more favorable position than countries relying on state-controlled innovation and development. Click here. (2/26)

Gravitational Waves Could Solve Hubble Constant Conundrum (Source: Space.com)
Scientists use two primary methods to measure the Hubble constant. One involves monitoring nearby objects whose properties scientists understand well, such as stellar explosions known as supernovas and pulsating stars known as Cepheid variables, in order to estimate their distances and then deduce the expansion rate of the universe. The other focuses on the cosmic microwave background, the leftover radiation from the Big Bang, and examines how it has changed over time to calculate how quickly the cosmos has expanded.

However, this pair of techniques has yielded two different results for the value of the Hubble constant. Data from the cosmic microwave background suggests the universe is currently expanding at a rate of about 41.6 miles (67 kilometers) per second per 3.26 million light-years, while data from supernovas and Cepheids in the nearby universe suggests a rate of about 45.3 miles (73 km) per second per 3.26 million light-years. Click here. (2/26)