March 21, 2019

The Air Force Will Soon Take Bids for Mid-2020s Launches. It’s Controversial (Source: Ars Technica)
Within the next 10 days, the US Air Force may issue an opportunity for rocket companies to bid on contracts for about 25 launches between 2022 and 2026. Although a “request for proposals” may not sound all that provocative, this particular government solicitation is filled with intrigue—and will have major implications for all of the big US rocket companies.

Notably, as part of this competition, the Air Force will choose only two companies to meet its launch needs from 2022 to 2026, with one provider winning 60 percent of the contracts and the other taking 40 percent. There is no provision to on-ramp other companies during the time frame.

This sets up a rather frantic competition between the incumbents, ULA and SpaceX, and newcomers Blue Origin (with its New Glenn booster) and Northrop Grumman (with its Omega rocket). Moreover, the timing appears to prejudice the competition in favor of the incumbents, which already have existing launch systems the government can assess. Click here. (3/21)

Rehearsing for the Mars Landings in Hawaii and Idaho (Source: Space Daily)
Analog missions on Earth help researchers understand how to do their jobs while faced with the many challenges that arise because of the hostile environment of space. Simulated EVAs were conducted in two Mars analogue environments: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho. Scientists think that early Mars once had volcanic activity that could have created the kinds of habitats that we know contain life on Earth.

These two field sites were chosen as they represent past and present conditions on Mars. Scientists can then try to understand the link between biology and the geological characteristics to identify sampling locations for astrobiological studies. (3/21)

Shanahan Talks Space Force Mission, Size (Source: Space News)
The acting secretary of defense said the proposed Space Force is necessary to serve as an "advocate" for military space needs. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said that America's dominance in space is being challenged now by China, and that there needs to be more work on advanced and resilient space systems. "The Space Force focus is on delivering capability faster," he said. Shanahan said he will work to limit the size of the Space Force to avoid a growth in bureaucracy, but acknowledged that his current cost estimate of $2 billion over five years to establish the Space Force could increase. (3/21)

Boeing Starliner Launch Delays Likely (Source: Reuters)
Boeing commercial crew vehicle could be facing more delays. Industry sources claim that the uncrewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner vehicle will slip from April to August, while the crewed test flight will be delayed from August to November. The specific reason for the delay isn't known, and Boeing declined to comment on the report. NASA plans to publish an updated schedule of commercial crew test flights next week. Boeing's uncrewed flight was widely expected to slip by some degree given the lack of clear preparations for the mission and other vehicles scheduled to visit the International Space Station next month. (3/21)

Blue Origin Studying Repurposing of New Glenn Upper Stages (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin studied how it could repurpose New Glenn upper stages for commercial facilities in orbit as part of a NASA study. The effort examined how the stages could be turned into habitats of other facilities, although a company executive, speaking at a conference Wednesday, said Blue Origin had no firm plans to do so at this time. Blue Origin was one of 13 companies that received contracts from NASA last year regarding low Earth orbit commercialization. Another awardee, NanoRacks, also looked at how upper stages could be repurposed for commercial space stations. (3/21)

Canada Seeks LEO Broadband Capability (Source: SpaceQ)
The new Canadian budget includes funding for buying capacity on low Earth orbit broadband satellite systems. The budget plan, released this week, includes a program to spend several billion dollars over 10 years on rural broadband projects, which includes capacity on LEO satellite systems like the one Canadian operator Telesat is developing. The proposal did not set aside a specific amount for satellite capacity, however. The budget also includes $10 million for the next fiscal year to begin work on the robotic arm system that Canada will contribute to the NASA-led lunar Gateway. (3/20)

OneWeb Confirmed as First Ariane 6 Customer (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace confirmed OneWeb will be the customer for the first Ariane 6 launch. Arianespace said this week that OneWeb will fly an unspecified number of satellites on the inaugural Ariane 62 launch in the second half of 2020. OneWeb also has the option for buying two more Ariane 6 launches starting in 2023 that can carry 36 to 78 satellites each, depending on the version of the rocket used. (3/20)

OneWeb Starts to Mass-Produce Satellites in Florida (Source: Space Daily)
In the shiny white laboratory that is OneWeb Satellites' new Florida manufacturing plant, a historic first happened this week: The first few mass-produced satellites ever to be built in Florida started coming together. Workers in lab coats and hairnets pushed solar panels into cabinets where bright lights checked for fractures. Satellite frames covered in gold-colored film, about the size of a washing machine, neared the final radio-frequency test chambers.

"There are about 40 people working here now, and we're hiring another 30 this month," said John Start, resident expert engineer at OneWeb Satellites plant near Kennedy Space Center. Starting in August, the space firm intends to hire another 50 workers for a total of more than 120. The goal is to crank out two small satellites a day. Many will be launched from Florida; some will be carried on rockets made across the street by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. (3/21)

Lockheed Martin's First Smart Satellites are Tiny with Big Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Lockheed Martin has announced a new generation of space technology launching this year that will allow satellites to change their missions in orbit. Satellites that launched one, ten or even fifteen years ago largely have the same capability they had when they lifted off. That's changing with new architecture that will let users add capability and assign new missions with a software push, just like adding an app on a smartphone. This new tech, called SmartSat, is a software-defined satellite architecture that will boost capability for payloads on several pioneering nanosats ready for launch this year.

This year Lockheed Martin is integrating SmartSat technology on ten programs and counting, including the Linus and Pony Express nanosats, which will be the first to launch. These are rapid-prototype, testbed satellites using internal research and development funding, ready for 2019 launches on the first LM 50 nanosatellite buses.

The Linus project delivers two 12U cubesats performing a technology demonstration mission, validating SmartSat capabilities as well as 3D-printed spacecraft components. Pony Express builds multiple 6U satellites destined for a low earth orbit and will space qualify state-of-the-art networking technologies. Pony Express 1 is a pathfinder for a software-defined payload that will test cloud computing infrastructure and was developed in nine months. Follow-on Pony Express missions will prove out RF-enabled swarming formations and space-to-space networking. (3/21)

The President’s NASA Budget Slashes Programs and Cancels a Powerful Rocket Upgrade (Source: The Verge)
Perhaps the biggest change the request would make revolves around NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, a massive new vehicle that’s meant to take people to the Moon in the 2020s. The request effectively cancels the development of a more powerful version of the SLS. If the proposal is approved by Congress, that means NASA would focus on building a less powerful version of the rocket. It’s a decision that could bolster critics of the SLS who argue that commercial rockets could be a better option than the delayed and over budget NASA rocket.

For the last decade, NASA has been developing the SLS along with a crewed capsule called Orion, that would, together, send astronauts into deep space. The space agency planned to create two versions of the SLS rocket: the Block 1 and the Block 1B. The Block 1, which is supposed to make its first flight in the early 2020s, will be a beast of a rocket, capable of taking 209,000 pounds (95 metric tons) into low Earth orbit. That’s more than any current rocket can provide. (3/14)

USAID and NASA Harness Science, Technology for Amazon Sustainability (Source: Space Daily)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with support from NASA have initiated activities for SERVIR-Amazonia, a five-year effort that will use NASA's unique observations of Earth to address environmental and development challenges in the Amazon Basin. Operating as a regional hub, SERVIR-Amazonia will help people and institutions use satellite observations and geospatial tools to track environmental changes, evaluate climate threats and rapidly respond to natural disasters.

By strengthening the local capacity to integrate science and technology into decision-making, USAID and NASA will support sustainability and self-reliance throughout the Amazon, home to the world's largest tropical rain forest. Funded by USAID with science and technology support from NASA, SERVIR-Amazonia will be implemented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia. (3/19)

DARPA Wants To Assemble, Demo Nuclear Rocket in Orbit (Source: Aviation Week)
DARPA plans to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system that can be assembled on orbit to expand U.S. operating presence in cislunar space, according to the Pentagon advanced research agency’s fiscal 2020 budget request. The agency is seeking $10 million in 2020 to begin a new program, Reactor On A Rocket (ROAR), to develop a high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) propulsion system. (3/20)

Colorado’s Getting a Spaceport! To Go with its Massive Military-Focused Aerospace Industry! (Source: Denverite)
If you’re driving east on Highway 36 through Watkins, Colorado, go past the gas station that stocks a range of winter coats, take a couple doglegs and continue by the weathered white barn with a big BEEF advertisement on its side, and keep going beyond the parcels of prairie for sale. Then, finally, you’ll come to a sign that still says “Front Range Airport.” It’s a small facility, a 14-mile drive southeast of Denver International Airport, and no fences stop you from walking right onto the runway. Welcome to Colorado’s spaceport.

Colorado is a semi-sensible place to put a spaceport: It has the second-largest aerospace economy in the U.S., and the largest per capita. In the private sector, 26,620 Coloradans worked directly in the aerospace sector, as did 28,810 military personnel. Many work for the big guns, like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada, and Northrop Grumman, but most of the state’s 500-ish aerospace employers are small companies.

When these companies make big news, it’s often because of their feel-good projects: making test capsules for astronauts, sending cute robots to Mars, launching weather satellites, making space shuttles that looks like orcas, designing systems for NASA’s pretty-picture telescopes. But away from the bright lights — and making up the majority of the $15.4 billion impact the space industry has on the state — lurk projects a little harder to talk about: defense initiatives, intelligence satellites, national security space missions. These stay deeper in the shadows, sometimes because they’re classified, but also partly because they’re less rah-rah press-releasable. (3/20)

Pentagon Opens Internal Inquiry of Acting Defense Chief’s Ties to Boeing (Source: New York Times)
The Defense Department’s inspector general said on Wednesday that it was investigating complaints that the acting defense secretary, Patrick M. Shanahan, had been promoting his former employer, Boeing, and disparaging its military contractor competitors. The investigation will examine complaints filed last week by a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Dwrena K. Allen, a spokeswoman for the inspector general’s office, said that investigators had informed Mr. Shanahan of the inquiry. Mr. Shanahan told lawmakers last week that he supported an investigation. (3/20)

New Hotel to Feature Kennedy Space Center Views (Source: Florida Today)
By the fall of 2020, guests at a new five-story Titusville hotel may enjoy prime views of rocket launches from a rooftop deck situated directly across the river from Kennedy Space Center and its visitor center. Delaware North, operator of the KSC Visitor Complex, will build the 152-room Courtyard by Marriott next to the former U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame building off of State Road 405. “The increased interest and activity in our country’s space program makes this the ideal time to open a new, family-friendly hotel near Kennedy Space Center and the Visitor Complex,” said Scott Socha, president of Delaware North’s parks and resorts division, in a statement. (3/19)

Protecting Low Earth Orbit From Becoming the New Wild West (Source: Space News)
Assuring national and economic security is an urgent responsibility, especially as low Earth orbit (LEO) is opening to many new players. At a Space Summit in December, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross suggested that with adequate support it could become a $1 trillion-plus industry worldwide within 10 to 15 years. These companies have investors, insurers and ultimately, customers counting on their success. Some of them are quite small, with 25 or fewer employees. And they’ll be launching products that must operate for years to come.

The companies developing these systems depend on continuous and resilient operations, not only for themselves, but for the orbital neighborhood. Everyone shares challenges in LEO — we’ve seen this in other domains like air traffic control. If we’re not careful, we face the potential of the “tragedy of the commons,” where companies will focus on near-term business success rather than long-term sustainability and shared safety of operations.

Commercial space businesses must take the long view by doing everything possible today to build capacity into their satellites for future software and firmware upgrades, while designing for both resilience and security. We are still in the infancy of developing standard metrics for cyber resiliency that can be practically used in system designs. We need to find a workable balance: using design guidelines that will truly make space systems secure and safe in a measurable way, while being affordable. (3/16)

Natalie Portman to Star in Movie Based on Astronaut Lisa Nowak (Source: Florida Today)
A new science fiction movie loosely based on former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak — notoriously known for driving from Houston to Orlando wearing an adult diaper to kidnap her ex-boyfriend's new love interest back in 2007 — will premiere in theaters this year. Academy Award winner Natalie Portman will play female astronaut, Lucy Cola, who has a hard time adjusting to life back on Earth after living in space, as seen in the trailer released Tuesday. (3/20)

Trump Says Brazil is the ‘Ideal Launch Location’ for US Rocket Companies (Source: CNBC)
“After 20 years of talks we are finalizing a technology safeguards agreement to allow U.S. companies to conduct space launches from Brazil,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday at a press conference with Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. “Because of the location, tremendous amounts of money would be saved.”

Alcantara has also drawn recent interest from U.S. space companies. CNBC has reported that in December 2017, representatives for five rocket companies visited the base, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Vector and Microcosm. But the Brazilian site isn’t ready for rocket launches just yet. Alcantara has been little used since August 2003, when a rocket with two satellites on board exploded on the launchpad, killing 21 people and damaging the launchpad’s infrastructure.

The main hurdle to launching from Alcantara, for U.S. companies, was the lack of a Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) with Brazil. Such an agreement protects sensitive information about any rockets exported to Brazil. With the agreement signed, companies can take a closer look at the launch site. Reopening Alcantara would allow U.S. companies to equal the playing field against European competitors. (3/20)