February 6, 2019

NASA, Partners Update Commercial Crew Launch Dates (Source: NASA)
NASA and its Commercial Crew Program providers Boeing and SpaceX have agreed to move the target launch dates for the upcoming inaugural test flights of their next generation American spacecraft and rockets that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station. The agency now is targeting March 2 for launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon on its uncrewed Demo-1 test flight. Boeing’s uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is targeted for launch no earlier than April.

These adjustments allow for completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers. To meet NASA’s requirements, the commercial providers must demonstrate their systems are ready to begin regular flights to the space station. After the uncrewed flight tests, Boeing and SpaceX will complete a flight test with crew prior to being certified by NASA for crew rotation missions. (2/6)

Satellite Imagery Suggests Second Iranian Space Launch Has Failed (Source: NPR)
Satellite imagery of a space launch center in northern Iran suggests a second attempt to launch a satellite has failed. The imagery, taken earlier today by San Francisco-based company Planet and shared with NPR, shows burn scars on a newly painted launch pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center. The burns appeared after days of activity at the site which suggested Iran was preparing for a launch.

"We seem to see at least some scorch marks on the launch pad, indicating that a launch likely happened," says David Schmerler, a senior research associate at The Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who has analyzed the imagery. The burn scars on the pad indicate that the rocket took off successfully, Schmerler says. But Iran has made no public announcements regarding the launch, and Schmerler and others believe something went wrong later in the flight. (2/6)

Floridians Assigned to House Space Subcommittee (Source: SPACErePORT)
Democratic and Republican members of the House of Representatives have been appointed to the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics during the 116th Congress. The Florida members include Democrat Charlie Crist (a former Florida Governor), and Republicans Bill Posey (representing the Space Coast) and Michael Waltz (representing the 6th District in Central Florida, north of the Cape Canaveral Spaceport). The subcommittee's jurisdiction includes:

All matters relating to astronautical and aeronautical R&D; national space policy, including access to space; sub‐orbital access and applications; NASA and its contractor and government‐operated labs; space commercialization; eExploration and use of outer space; international space cooperation; the National Space Council; space applications, space communications and related matters; earth remote sensing policy; civil aviation research, development, and demonstration; R&D and demonstration programs of the FAA; and space law. (2/6)

NASA Reported that 2018 was the Fourth-Hottest Year on Record (Source: New York Times)
NASA scientists announced Wednesday that the Earth’s average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in nearly 140 years of record-keeping and a continuation of an unmistakable warming trend. “The five warmest years have, in fact, been the last five years,” said Gavin A. Schmidt, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the NASA group that conducted the analysis. “We’re no longer talking about a situation where global warming is something in the future. It’s here. It’s now.”

Over all, 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001. The results of this warming, Dr. Schmidt said, can be seen from the heat waves in Australia and extended droughts to coastal flooding in the United States, in disappearing Arctic ice and shrinking glaciers. Scientists have linked climate change to more destructive hurricanes like Michael and Florence last year, and have found links to such phenomena as the polar vortex, which last week delivered bone-chilling blasts to the American Midwest and Northeast. (2/6)

NASA and ESA to Nudge Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test (Source: Thrillist)
In what's being touted as the first-ever test of a true planetary defense system, NASA has teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to try and knock an asteroid off course by slamming into it with a special probe traveling at roughly four miles per second. The Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) project involves targeting the asteroid known as Didymos and a much smaller rock that orbits it, deemed "Didymoon," and essentially punching the latter off its course. (2/5)

China's SAST Plans Production of 17 Launchers in 2019 (Source: Space News)
A Chinese manufacturer expects to produce 17 launch vehicles for missions this year. Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) said that its plans for 2019 include three launches of the Long March 6, a relatively new small launch vehicle that uses kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants. The other launches will use older, hypergolic Long March 2D and Long March 4B and 4C rockets. SAST is one of the two major producers of Chinese launch vehicles, with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology being the other. (2/5)

Japan Plans Asteroid Landing on Feb. 21 (Source: AFP)
The Japanese space agency JAXA has a set a date for the landing of its Hayabusa2 spacecraft on an asteroid. Project leaders said Wednesday they will attempt a landing on the asteroid Ryugu at about 6 p.m. Eastern Feb. 21. JAXA had pushed back the landing because of difficulties identifying a suitable site on the asteroid's surface, which is rockier than expected. Hayabusa2 will collect samples from Ryugu for later return to Earth. (2/5)

Ariane's Prometheus Engine Passes Review (Source: ArianeGroup)
A new European rocket engine has passed a key early review. ArianeGroup says that the Prometheus engine completed a two-month definition review Feb. 1 in cooperation with ESA, the French space agency CNES and the German space agency DLR. That review confirmed the design of the low-cost liquid oxygen and methane engine that is potentially reusable. Production of two demonstration models of the engine is scheduled to begin in the first half of this year for tests in 2020. (2/5)

Space Mention in SOTU Address (Source: Space.com)
President Trump briefly mentioned the past and future of spaceflight in the State of the Union address Tuesday night. Trump mentioned the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing and commercial crew test flights planned for later in the year: "This year, American astronauts will go back to space in American rockets." Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin attended the speech. (2/6)

Boeing Partners with Aerion, Bets Big on Supersonics (Source: AIN)
Boeing announced a partnership with Aerion Corp. and further made a “significant,” but undisclosed, investment in the Reno, Nevada-based supersonic business jet (SSBJ) developer that aims to “accelerate technology development and aircraft design, and unlock supersonic air travel for new markets.” This apparently replaces Lockheed Martin as Aerion’s aircraft manufacturing partner—a development that, when announced in December 2017, displaced Airbus from this central position. Under the new agreement, Boeing will provide engineering, manufacturing, and flight-test resources, as well as strategic vertical content, for Aerion’s AS2 SSBJ.

The move also resulted in a major shake-up of Aerion’s board of directors, with Boeing now holding two seats and the departure of billionaire backer, and now former chairman, Robert Bass. Boeing’s contingent on the board consists of Boeing Commercial Airplanes v-p of product strategy and future airplane development Mike Sinnett and Boeing Global Services v-p of supply chain Ken Shaw. Meanwhile, Tom Vice, who was elevated at Aerion to president and CEO, as well as a board member, in August, has added the title of chairman, effective today.

Notably, the change in manufacturing partners does not affect the timeline for the Mach 1.4 AS2, with first flight still slated for 2023, nor Aerion’s decision to use the GE Aviation Affinity engine to power the aircraft. Business aviation analyst and JetNet iQ managing director Rollie Vincent said today’s announcement was “completely unexpected,” but added, “If you’re going to have a partner, there’s no one better than Boeing. If anyone has the resources to bear to bring a supersonic jet to market, it’s Boeing.” (2/5)

Ariane 5 Launches Two Commsats (Source: Space News)
Arianespace kicked off its 2019 launch campaign Tuesday with the successful launch of two communications satellites on an Ariane 5. The rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:01 p.m. Eastern and delivered the Saudi Geostationary Satellite-1/Hellas Sat-4 and GSAT-31 communications satellites to geostationary transfer orbits. SaudiGeoSat-1/Hellas Sat-4, built by Lockheed Martin for King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and Hellas Sat, is the first commercial satellite to use the company's modernized LM2100 platform. GSAT-31 was built by the Indian space agency ISRO to replace the Insat-4CR satellite. Arianespace anticipates launching at least 12 times this year, of which five missions are Ariane 5 launches with two satellites each. (2/6)

Momentus to Move Satellites In Space (Source: Space News)
A European rideshare launch services company has signed a deal with a startup to provide in-space transportation of its satellites. Exolaunch, the German launch services provider formerly known as ECM Space, signed a contract to pay in-space transportation startup Momentus more than $6 million to move satellites in low Earth orbit in 2020 with a service called Vigoride and from low Earth to geosynchronous orbit in 2021 with Vigoride Extended. The Vigoride systems, using a water plasma propulsion system, will allow the satellites Exolaunch deploys to reach their desired orbits. Momentus plans to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of its water plasma engine in March or April. (2/6)

Mars Cubesats Demonstration Reaches End (Source: Space News)
The two cubesats that flew to Mars with NASA's InSight lander have likely reached the end of their missions. JPL said Tuesday that neither of the Mars Cube One, or MarCO, cubesats has contacted the Earth in more than a month. The cubesats served as data relays during InSight's landing on Mars in November and continued to operate for weeks after they flew past Mars, providing data on the performance of their subsystems. MarCO demonstrated the ability of cubesats to perform deep space missions. (2/5)

Shutdown Delayed Orion Abort System Test (Source: Houston Chronicle)
The partial government shutdown has delayed a test of the Orion launch abort system. The Ascent Abort 2 (AA-2) test, which was scheduled for April, will slip by some period of time, but less than the 35-day length of the shutdown, said Mark Kirasich, NASA Orion program manager. AA-2 will perform an in-flight test of Orion's launch abort system by launching a boilerplate Orion capsule on a solid rocket motor from Cape Canaveral. The launch abort system will activate at an altitude of nearly 10,000 meters, testing its ability to pull an Orion spacecraft away from its rocket in an emergency. (2/5)