February 5, 2019

Is This the Beginning of the End for Stratolaunch? (Source: Motley Fool)
Without Paul Allen's billions to back it, it's going to be dreadfully hard for Stratolaunch to break into the market for rocket launches, which is already dominated by the likes of SpaceX and ULA, and quickly being swarmed by start-ups such as Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit, and others. And yet, there's at least a faint hope Stratolaunch could be saved...by one of its rocket-launching rivals.

Could Stratolaunch help Northrop to scale up Pegasus? As of today, Stratolaunch appears to be relying on Pegasus XL rockets from Northrop Grumman to give its Roc a means of putting satellites in orbit. These are, by the way, the same Pegasus rockets that Northrop air-launches on its own, using its L-1011 Stargazer carrier aircraft. Now, for Northrop, Pegasus is currently only a tiny fraction of annual revenues -- less than 1% of the company's new "Innovation Systems" division, which itself accounts for less than one-fifth of Northrop Grumman's $25.8 billion in annual sales, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

But Pegasus may have potential. Northrop Grumman launches less than one Pegasus rocket per year on average, and charges about $56 million per launch. In a market where SpaceX can lift nearly 23 tons of payload to low Earth orbit for just $62 million, however, paying Northrop just a few million less to launch a substantially smaller payload seems economically suboptimal. (2/3)

Slump Continues for GEO Satellite Orders (Source: Space News)
The drought of commercial GEO satellite orders continued into 2018. Only five large commercial GEO communications satellites were ordered last year, down from the already-low seven ordered in 2017. Several orders expected in 2018 did not materialize, like a third Viasat-3 satellite by ViaSat, and one satellite ordered early in 2018, Amos-8, was later canceled. Manufacturers continue to vie for fewer such contracts as satellite operators hold off buying new spacecraft as they assess high-throughput technology and small-satellite constellations. (2/5)

Space Startup Investments Continue Upward Trend (Source: Space News)
Investment in space startups continued their upward trend in 2018. Reports by two organizations, Seraphim Capital and Space Angels, estimated that between $2.97 billion and $3.25 billion was invested in space startups in 2018, with difference between the two based on what companies are considered to be space-related. Both firms identified launch as the single largest area of investment activity, totaling between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion according to their estimates. Some sectors, like ground segment companies, did see reduced investment in 2018. Space Angels counted 534 venture capital firms that have invested in space since 2009, with 114 making their first-ever investment in 2018. (2/5)

Shutdown Delayed FAA Launch Licensing Regulations (Source: Space News)
The recent partial government shutdown caused the FAA to miss a Feb. 1 deadline for releasing a draft of revised launch licensing regulations. Space Policy Directive 2 last year instructed the FAA to publish draft rules to streamline the launch licensing process by that date, but the agency has yet to publish the proposal. An FAA spokesman said that the FAA was reassessing its schedule in light of the shutdown, but did not give a new date. The proposed rules are expected to make it easier for companies to comply with safety requirements and allow the same launch license to be used at multiple launch sites. (2/5)

Antarctic Radar Mapping Satellite Misses Mark for Arctic Interests (Source: Nature)
Plans to have an upcoming U.S.-Indian satellite focus on Antarctica has caused concerns for scientists studying the Arctic. The science team for the NISAR radar mapping satellite, scheduled for launch in 2022, decided last fall to optimize the spacecraft's synthetic aperture radar to study the Antarctic with a design, based on how radar signals are collected, that prevents it from studying the Arctic. Project officials ague that other satellites, including Europe's Sentinel-1 spacecraft, are already studying the Arctic, hence the need to optimize coverage for the Antarctic. Some scientists, though, are worried about relying on other nations' satellites for coverage of the Arctic, since NASA will have no control over how they're operated. (2/5)

Telesat Hiring to Develop LEO Constellation (Source: CBC)
Telesat plans to hire more than 100 people as it develops its LEO broadband constellation. The Canadian company current has about 250 employees at its Ottawa headquarters, but is hiring to carry out the research and development needed for its constellation. Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, said he expected other local companies to also benefit from the system's development. (2/5)

ISS Crew Scrambles to Fix Toilet Leak (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The crew of the International Space Station spent some time cleaning up a leak that, while not dangerous, was messy. About 11 liters of water leaked into the station when the crew was attempting to disconnect a water line leading into the station's toilet as part of rerouting other cables. The crew cleaned up the water with a "significant number" of towels, and they were able to complete the repairs and restore the toilet to normal operations. (2/5)

Spaceport America Makes Super Boal Cameo (Source: KRQE)
Spaceport America made a cameo appearance in a Super Bowl ad. The spaceport was the setting for a Toyota Supra ad aired during halftime where the car raced through what looked like a giant pinball machine. The ad was filmed at the spaceport in December, and its main terminal building could be seen briefly at the beginning and end of the ad. While other commercials have been filmed at the New Mexico spaceport before, this was the most prominent one given both the scale of the filming and its Super Bowl audience. Spaceport officials hope the commercial will spur additional inquiries about filming there. (2/5)

PBS Plans Summer of Space (Source: PBS)
Move over, Summer of Love: 2019 will be the "Summer of Space" at PBS. The network says it's planning "a celestial programming spectacle" this summer tied to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, with the centerpiece being the six-hour film "Chasing the Moon" to air in July. Other science and history programs linked to the anniversary are planned on topics ranging from astronomy to future space exploration. (2/5)

Air Force Talks Microsatellites for Space 'Triage' (Source: Space News)
A "triage" has identified critical military needs that could be met by space systems, including small satellites. Chuck Finley, former technical director of the Pentagon's Operational Responsive Space office and its successor Air Force Space Rapid Capabilities office, said at the SmallSat Symposium Monday that combatant commanders want to improve Earth observation, missile warning, space situational awareness, and position, navigation and timing. One example, he said is the ability to track "things and people doing things in a fleeting way," something that requires frequent revisits that are difficult with conventional space systems but could be accomplished by smallsat constellations. (2/5)

Air Forcec Tests Satellite Roaming Terminal (Source: Space News)
An experiment shows that military satellite terminals are capable of roaming from one commercial satellite to another. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions said Monday it demonstrated that satellite communications terminals that military forces use in the field today can be set up in minutes to roam across different commercial satellite communications networks. The test, involving a terminal used by Special Operations forces, was able to seamlessly shift from an Intelsat to an SES satellite. The roaming test was part of an Air Force pilot technology demonstration project that is looking at ways to use commercial satellite services to lower the cost and increase the resiliency of military communications. (2/5)

EarthNow to Use OneWeb Satellite Bus for 500 Satellite Constellation (Source: GeekWire)
EarthNow has disclosed more details about how it plans to provide real-time video from a constellation of satellites. The company has proposed a constellation of 500 satellites, each weighing 200 kilograms and equipped with four cameras that provide video at 20 frames a second and at a resolution of one meter. The constellation will use the same satellite bus as the OneWeb constellation. The company raised $6.6 million last year and is working on a Series A round now, with a goal of launching the first "pathfinder" satellites in 2020. Editor's Note: This may mean that the satellites will be developed at OneWeb's new facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (2/5)