March 20, 2019

Florida’s Bright Future in Space Industry (Source: Tampa Bay Times)
Few industries have such an iconic history in Florida as space travel - and few places are as prepared to capitalize on this new era in space. As the U.S. plans missions to the moon and beyond, and as private industry takes on a larger role in space, this state is well-positioned to grow into a worldwide aerospace hub. Florida has launch pads, talent and critical mass in the market - and now it needs a laser focus on the possibilities and strong support in Tallahassee.

Florida’s potential has become increasingly clear as the nation reaffirms its mission in space and as technological breakthroughs in the aerospace sector have become more incorporated into every day life. Space Florida, the entity the Legislature created to grow Florida’s place in the industry, continues to attract new employers and revitalize the market, generating thousands of high-wage jobs and tens of billions of dollars of economic activity. The next step is to more closely align the industry in Florida with NASA’s mission, the nation’s security and global consumer needs to make the Sunshine State the unrivaled global space port. Click here. (3/15)

Turkish Meteorite Traced to Impact Crater on Vesta (Source: Space Daily)
A collision on asteroid Vesta that created the U-shaped Antonia impact crater 22 million years ago produced the meteorites that fell near the village of Saricicek in Turkey in 2015, according to an international team of 79 researchers. "We visited Saricicek shortly after the fall," says Ozan Unsalan, lead author and planetary scientist from Ege University in Izmir, Turkey. "The villagers and scientists from nearby Bingol University provided meteorites for study and mapped the location of 343 finds."

The meteorites were found to be of a type called howardite, part of a clan of meteorites called howardite-eucrite-diogenites (HED). The meteorites reflect light much like asteroid Vesta and its family of Vestoids. 525-kilometer Vesta is the second largest body in the asteroid belt. The 0.8 to 8 kilometer sized Vestoids are fragments from a massive collision that created the Rheasilvia impact basin on Vesta. About one third of all HED that fall to Earth were created in a collision 22 million years ago. (3/19)

Florida Space Startup Rocket Crafters Pivots with New Patents for 3D-Printed Fuel (Source: UPI)
In the new commercial space age, patents and intellectual property for rocket engines mean everything, as the founders of Florida startup Rocket Crafters Inc. demonstrated recently. The scrappy space company works out of a gritty garage in Cocoa, about 15 miles from Kennedy Space Center. It made headlines when it landed a federal contract in 2017 to test its patented hybrid rocket engine, which combines 3D-printed solid plastic fuel with a liquid during ignition. It completed numerous tests.

But late last year, Rocket Crafters made a major unannounced switch in direction to seek patents for a new method of printing its fuel. Co-founder Ronald Jones had left the company and took his patents with him to begin a new company, Firehawk Aerospace. "I wish them well since I'm a major shareholder," said Jones, former president of Rocket Crafters.

Both companies are now trying to raise new money. Rocket Crafters' other leadership hasn't changed much other than Jones. It still is led by former astronaut Sid Gutierrez, its chairman, and U.S. Air Force veterans like Rob Fabian, its president. Jones said he's talking to Space Florida, the state's space marketing and economic development agency, and securing more patents. "We spent years working on tests and started rewickering," Fabian said. "We had been printing the fuel cylinders in stacked rings. But we learned that a horizontal, linear structure is easier and faster to print; it's more stable as you print it." Click here. (3/19)

Rocket Crafters Eyes 2019 Test Launch at Virginia Spaceport (Source: UPI)
Rocket Crafters is arranging its first real test flight for this fall at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The old sounding rocket pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station hasn't been used in years and needs renovating, Fabian said. Wallace pointed out that the Rocket Crafters design, if used commercially, would require less airspace to be closed during launch because the design should create zero risk of a large explosion. "The two parts of our fuel system wouldn't ignite without the exact conditions we're setting up in the engine."

Rocket Crafters' new fund goal is $5.7 million. The company also wants to fund of a new office and production facility near the site at which Firefly plans its plant. If all goes according to plan, Fabian wants to hire 16 people this year, including an apprentice through a formal new program called the Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program. The apprentice would start a two-year, part-time job in the fall and begin an approved degree program at Eastern Florida. Rocket Crafters has partnered with Helicon Chemical Co. in Orlando for some of the fuel ingredients, Fabian said. (3/19)

SpaceX Goes All-In on Steel Starship, Scraps Expensive Carbon Fiber BFR Tooling (Source: Teslarati)
In a wholly unforeseen turn of events, SpaceX has taken the extraordinary step of permanently scrapping both its Port of Los Angeles-based BFR development tent and what seem to be the majority of what it contained, irreparably destroying custom-built tooling meant to support the fabrication of carbon composite BFR spaceships and boosters.

Likely worth anywhere from several to tens of millions of dollars, SpaceX’s advanced BFR production tools were procured from Ascent Aerospace in 2017 and delivered to SpaceX's Port of LA tent around April 2018. Situated at the port specifically due to logistical concerns about the high cost of transporting 9m/30ft-diameter objects from SpaceX’s main Hawthorne facilities to a barge for transport east, the company has decided to unequivocally destroy its composite tooling less than 12 months after accepting delivery.

Put simply, this is the best evidence yet that SpaceX – willing or not – has gone all-in on build Starship and Super Heavy out of stainless steel less than six months after CEO Elon Musk began to hint at the program’s utterly radical pivot. In the subsequent months of 2018, SpaceX’s BFR and composite R&D team spent tens of thousands of hours building out an ad-hoc advanced composites workshop inside a temporary tent in an industrial area, and ultimately managed to build a number of full-scale carbon fiber segments, including at least one large tank barrel section and the beginnings of a tank dome. (3/20)

Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome Ready for Space, ISS Launches (Source: Sputnik)
One of the routes opened for launches of Soyuz-2 carrier rockets from the Vostochny space center can be used to launch manned and cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesperson for the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos told Sputnik.

"Indeed, [the route] with an inclination [of 51 degrees to the equator during launches from Vostochny spaceport] can be used for flight to the ISS", the spokesperson said. However, the spokesperson noted that at present this "route is open only for automatic space vehicles [designed for launches] by Soyuz-2.1a or 1b carrier rockets".

Earlier in the day, a document of AlfaStrakhovanie insurance company obtained by Sputnik revealed that a route was opened at Vostochny cosmodrome for launching of manned and cargo spacecraft into orbit with an inclination of 51 degrees to the equator, which is used by the ISS. (3/19)

Trump to Tap Dickson as New FAA Chief (Sources: Stars & Stripes, SPACErePORT)
President Donald Trump will nominate former Delta Air Lines executive Stephen Dickson as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Dickson would replace acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell. President Trump is reported to have originally sought to install his personal pilot as the FAA chief but opted against the nomination as it was unlikely to receive Senate approval.

Daniel Elwell has served as in a temporary capacity since January 2018, and President Trump has been criticized for showing little urgency in nominating a permanent administrator for the agency. That seems to have changed with the recent problems faced by Boeing and its now-grounded 737 Max aircraft. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Dickson's responsibilities will include an increasing FAA focus on commercial spaceflight issues. (3/19)

NASA to Test Drones in Texas This Summer (Source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
NASA will use Corpus Christi, Texas, as one of its two nationwide test locations this summer for collecting information on how drones interact within a "diverse geographic landscape," NASA's Marcus Johnson says. Local safety agencies also will be able to learn how drones can avoid interfering with other aircraft while assisting with a variety of tasks, he says. (3/19)

Rethinking EM-1, and SLS (Source: Space Review)
Last week NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that NASA was studying alternatives to using the Space Launch System on the EM-1 mission. Jeff Foust reports on those developments and how it could reopen the need for the SLS in the first place. Click here. (3/18)
 
An Enigma Behind the Curtain: the Tallinn Anti-Ballistic Missile System and Satellite Intelligence (Source: Space Review)
Satellite intelligence can provide insights to guide policy decisions. Chris Manteuffel describes one case from the Cold War where satellite imagery was wrongly interpreted by intelligence officials, leading to a costly investment that may not have been necessary. Click here. (3/18)
 
NASA’s Flawed Plan to Return Humans to the Moon (Source: Space Review)
NASA is working on elements of an exploration plan that would return humans to the surface of the Moon by 2028. Gerald Black says that this approach has more negatives than positives and should be replaced by an alternative approach. Click here. (3/18) 
 
Pow, Right to the Moon (Source: Space Review)
There are a number of problems with NASA’s current approach to return to the Moon. Yet, Eric Hedman argues, it may still be the best way to get humans to the surface of the Moon in the next decade. Click here. (3/18)

NASA’s Space Launch System Beset by Delays (Source: WMFE)
NASA’s next-generation rocket, the SLS, is over-budget and behind schedule. The rocket, which is taller than the Statue of liberty, was scheduled to launch the agency’s Orion capsule on a test-mission around the moon back in 2017 but has since been delayed multiple times. The most recent launch target is 2020, but that is likely to slip, too.

Speaking to a Senate committee last week, NASA’s Administrator Jim Bridenstine floated a new idea for the Orion mission:  launch it on a commercial rocket. So is the future of NASA’s biggest rocket in the hands of the private space industry? What does that mean for the program here on the space coast? To talk more about the rocket program Intersection is joined by 90.7’s space reporter Brendan Byrne and Laura Forczyk, a space policy analyst and the founder of Astrolytical. (3/20)

KSC Team Studying NASA Launch Alternatives (Source: Florida Today)
A Kennedy Space Center team is studying whether commercial rockets could launch NASA's Orion capsule on its first test flight around the moon instead of the space agency's own SLS rocket. KSC's Launch Services Program, which buys rockets for and oversees launches of NASA science missions, is helping to study that option, Center Director Bob Cabana said. The struggling SLS rocket, designed to be the most powerful rocket ever, is not expected to be ready to launch the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1, or EM-1, as promised next year.

Different NASA teams are assessing options for launching EM-1 commercially or speeding the development of the SLS. The Boeing-built core stage has proven technically challenging, and suffered some delays beyond its control, like tornado damage to an assembly facility near New Orleans in 2017 and the recent partial federal government shutdown. Launching EM-1 commercially would require two launches and an in-space assembly of the two elements, something they were not designed for.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said studies would be completed within a couple of weeks, and that funding commercial launches to keep the EM-1 mission on track for next year "might require some help from the Congress." SLS would still launch astronauts in Orion on EM-2. Cabana reiterated a promise he's made for years about the ground systems that KSC: "KSC will not be the reason that we don’t launch on time," he said. (3/19)

What About KSC's New Mobile Launch Platform? (Sources: Florida Today, Space News)
NASA’s original plans called for modifying the existing mobile launcher after the first SLS Block 1 launch, so that it could be used for Block 1B launches on the second and subsequent SLS missions. That raised concerns about a long gap between SLS missions, estimated at 33 months, primarily because of the work needed to modify the launch platform. Building Mobile Launcher 2, rather than modifying the first platform, will allow that first platform to be used for additional flights of the SLS Block 1.

If NASA's new option for commercial EM-1 launches is approved, that plan would have ramifications for KSC, which is close to awarding a contract to build Mobile Launcher 2, designed to support the SLS rocket. The second Mobile Launcher, for which Congress has already appropriated roughly $400 million, would be superfluous without the bigger rocket that had been expected to launch the first astronauts in Orion. (3/19)

Massive U.S. Machines That Hunt For Ripples In Space-Time Just Got An Upgrade (Source: NPR)
Scientists are about to restart the two giant facilities in the United States that register gravitational waves, the ripples in the very fabric of the universe that were predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago. Einstein realized that when massive objects such as black holes collide, the impact sends shock waves through space-time that are like the ripples in water created by tossing a pebble in a pond.

In 2015, researchers made history by detecting gravitational waves from colliding black holes for the first time — and this was such a milestone that three U.S. physicists almost immediately won the Nobel Prize for their work on the project. Since then, physicists have detected gravitational waves from other exotic smashups. The grand total is 10 pairs of black holes colliding and a pair of neutron stars crashing together.

Now they're getting ready to discover more of these cosmic events. On April 1, the twin facilities in Louisiana and Washington state that make up the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory will start doing science again after being shut down for more than a year so that workers could install hardware upgrades. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and the improvements should dramatically increase the detector's ability to sense some of the most mysterious and powerful events in the universe. (3/19)

SDA’s First Five-Year Plan Looks to Spend $525 Million on LEO Layer (Source: Air Force Magazine)
The Space Development Agency plans to spend $525 million through fiscal 2024 on several studies and prototyping projects aimed at building a new constellation of small satellites in low-earth orbit, according to the Defense Department’s 2020 budget request. SDA asks for $85 million for research and development in 2020 and ramps up to $140 million in 2024. The fledgling agency received a total of about $150 million in the Defense Department’s 2020 budget, which began rolling out March 12.

Last week, Pentagon research chief Mike Griffin told reporters the SDA’s first priority will be to develop a “highly proliferated low-earth orbit sensor and communications transport layer” to defend against hypersonic weapons, ensure communications systems can connect in an emergency, and boost global situational awareness. New budget documents released this week show the LEO layer project will demonstrate a constellation of 20 small satellites that “heavily” draws on DARPA’s Blackjack program. (3/19)

Launch of Russia-US Space Probe to Venus Possible in 2027 (Source: Sputnik)
The launch of a joint Russian-US interplanetary probe to Venus is possible in 2027 at the earliest, even if the financing of the project starts in near future, the Russian co-chair of the joint working group on the Venera-D mission said in an interview with Sputnik. "The launch windows in 2026, at the end of 2027, in 2029 and 2031 are being discussed. Even if the financing starts this year, we are missing the first date, so it will most likely be 2027", Lyudmila Zasova, a researcher at the Space Research Institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained.

The scientist added that the two countries have already worked out the scientific objectives of the project and were ready to start developing the necessary equipment. She also noted that Japan and Europe are ready to join the Russian-US mission by providing their scientific equipment. For the orbiter, Japan offers infrared and ultraviolet cameras, Italy - two mapping spectrometers, Germany - a camera for observing the surface on the night side of Venus in the near-infrared spectrum, which is important for finding the possible thermal and volcanic activity, according to Zasova. (3/20)

Inmarsat Approached for Takeover (Sources: Space News, Reuters)
Inmarsat revealed Tuesday it has received another takeover offer. Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus International, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board made an offer of $3.3 billion in cash to acquire the satellite operator. Inmarsat said it remains in discussions with the consortium, which under British law has until April 16 to make a binding offer. Inmarsat received, but ultimately rejected, offers from Echostar and Eutelsat last year. Inmarsat shares rose 16 percent in trading Wednesday morning in London. (3/19)

Mars Underground Probe Still Stuck (Source: Space News)
Engineers are still studying why a probe on NASA's InSight Mars lander is stuck just below the surface. The "mole" of the Heat and Physical Properties Package is designed to burrow as deep as five meters below the surface, but is stuck about 30 centimeters deep. The principal investigator for the instrument said at a conference this week that the mole likely was deflected by a rock just below the surface, then ran into another rock or harder layer of regolith that is preventing it from going deeper. Mission leaders expect to resume efforts to burrow into the surface in a few weeks. The spacecraft's other major instrument, a seismometer, is working well although there have not yet been any Marsquakes for it to study. (3/19)

Israeli Lander Inches Closer to the Moon (Source: Space News)
SpaceIL's lunar lander performed a maneuver Tuesday that puts it on course for arriving at the moon early next month. The one-minute burn by its main engine extended the apogee of its orbit to 405,000 kilometers. A few smaller maneuvers to optimize the trajectory are scheduled for the coming days before the spacecraft arrives at the vicinity of the moon and goes into orbit around it April 4, with a landing scheduled one week later. Israel Aerospace Industries, which build the lander for SpaceIL, said it is exploring commercial opportunities for it, including teaming with American firms to build future landers in the U.S. so it is eligible for future NASA competitions. (3/19)

Florida Legislators Haggle Over Space and Economic Development Funding (Sources: Orlando Sentinel, SPACErePORT)
The Florida legislature plans to continue to support Space Florida as it reconsiders funding for other state development agencies. A proposed budget in the Florida House would give Space Florida $12.5 million to continue its work attracting space companies to the state. That decision comes as the House proposes not to fund Enterprise Florida, a public-private economic development agency, and provide only three months of funding for Visit Florida, the state's tourism office.

Despite solid House funding for Space Florida's basic operations, the chamber has thus far not allocated funds for Space Florida's innovative financing programs. Meanwhile, the Senate is more inclined than the libertarian-leaning House to fund these government-led economic development programs, and a Senate/House compromise is likely. (3/20)

Mynaric Raises $12.5 Million for Mystery Constellation Customer (Source: Space News)
Laser communications terminal provider Mynaric has raised $12.5 million from a mystery satellite constellation company. Mynaric said the investment came from the "lead investor of a satellite constellation it is working with" that previously signed an MOU with the company to purchase terminals. That constellation company plans to purchase up to 1,000 terminals for potential use as laser inter-satellite links. Three notable constellation ventures plan to use optical intersatellite links — SpaceX, Telesat and LeoSat — though none exactly fit the profile of Mynaric's unnamed investor. (3/20)

Space Council Plans Huntsville Meeting (Source: Space News)
The National Space Council will meet next week to discuss NASA's exploration plans. The meeting, the fifth for the council since it was reconstituted in 2017, is scheduled for March 26 in Huntsville, Alabama. The meeting will feature two panels of experts to discuss NASA's implementation of national space policy calling for a human return to the moon and later missions to Mars. (3/20)

Ruag Turns to Robots for Satellite Component Production (Source: Space News)
Ruag is making use of automation for the production of components for satellite constellations. Ruag turned to robotic technologies to make the structures for OneWeb's satellites given the large volume of structures that need to be produced in a short time. Before constellations changed the market, Ruag optimized satellite parts for technical excellence. Now, the company balances that with the need to be inexpensive and easily mass produced. (3/20)

Airbus and OneWeb Re-Think Satellite Mass Production, at Florida Factory (Source: Space News)
Airbus is applying lessons learned from its aviation business to the mass production of satellites. Airbus is partnered with OneWeb on OneWeb Satellites, the joint venture responsible for producing OneWeb's fleet of hundreds of satellites. Nicolas Chamussy, Airbus Defence and Space's executive vice president of space systems, said building the OneWeb satellites required a complete rethink of how to design a satellite with an emphasis on repeatability.

OneWeb will soon begin production of its satellites at a new factory on the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. Supplier RUAG has set up operations in nearby Titusville. (3/20)

Asteroid Bennu is Ejecting Material (Source: New York Times)
To the surprise of scientists, a NASA spacecraft has found that that asteroid Bennu is ejecting material. Images from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft orbiting Bennu detected small particles being ejected from the asteroid. Some material escapes the asteroid entirely while other particles briefly go into orbit before falling back to its surface. Scientists said Tuesday they don't know what's causing the particle ejection, but said that activity doesn't pose a risk to the spacecraft.

OSIRIS-REx is designed to touch down on the surface of Bennu to collect samples for return to Earth, a task project managers said will be harder than previously expected because the surface is filled with boulders larger than anticipated. Similar conditions on the asteroid Ryugu have led the Japanese space agency JAXA to revise its sample collection plans for its Hayabusa2 spacecraft. (3/19)

Japan's Interstellar Technologies Plans Suborbital Launch (Source: Nikkei)
A Japanese startup plans to launch a sounding rocket this spring as it works on an orbital launch vehicle. Interstellar Technologies said it expects to launch its Momo rocket, capable of sending 10 kilograms to an altitude of 100 kilometers, in the near future. The company's previous suborbital launch attempts have ended in failure. Interstellar Technologies says it will work with JAXA on the development of its Zero small orbital launch vehicle, slated to make its first launch in 2022 or 2023. (3/20)