March 27, 2019

Couple Develops Millennial Living Spaces Near Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Trend)
Less than two years after buying a historic bank and hotel building in downtown Titusville, Colorado’s Laura and Barry Hamilton are turning the bank space into co-working offices and the hotel into 20 apartments, some of which will come furnished for engineers on short-term assignment. Patios will allow for working outside. The decor will feature space program collectibles and art. A coffee shop, yoga studio and brew pub are in walking distance.

“From the very get-go, we programmed all the design to target Millennials,” Laura Hamilton says. The target market for the rehabbed space is the young people populating the workforce of young rocket-making companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX. A recent PayScale survey found the median age at SpaceX to be 29. As that new generation of workers takes root, however, companies and economic developers along Florida’s Space Coast have worried that the region lacks the walkable neighborhoods preferred by the stereotypical Millennial.

Mixed-use projects with ground-floor commercial and upstairs residential are scarce. The Hamiltons’ project is the first one, says Titusville redevelopment planner Tim Ford. Barry Hamilton founded Red Canyon Software, an aerospace engineering and software company in Denver that has clients on the Space Coast. He and Laura, a designer and “estate sale junkie,” also invest in real estate. Laura talks of being welcomed into people’s homes and being invited on kayaking and boating outings. They bought a home for themselves to use when visiting and several others as investments. (3/27)

Florida Tech Scientists Analyzing the Risks of Space Radiation (Source: Florida Tech)
As space tourism inches toward reality, and with a push for humans to reach Mars by 2030, health concerns for this growing number of would-be astronauts are increasingly relevant. Florida Tech College of Engineering and Science professors Kenia Pedrosa Nunes and Kunal Mitra are investigating the effect of space radiation on the human cardiovascular system.

The research is funded by one-year, $50,000 grant from the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium. Space radiation is different from the type humans are exposed to on Earth because it is comprised of atoms that have accelerated in interstellar space to nearly the speed of light. At that speed, the electrons are stripped away, causing the atoms to ionize. This radiation can enter the human body and damage DNA. (3/26)

Proposal to Base Trump's Space Force in Florida Moves Forward (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
During the Florida legislative session in Tallahassee, House Memorial 1281 drafted by Representative Tyler Sirois, R- Cocoa, has completed the first of two “committees of reference.” According to a release issued by Sirois’ office, the memorial received “unanimous” support.

The progression of the memorial is a two-step process, with the next being review and approval by the House State Affairs Committee. Should it be approved, it would then be submitted to the U.S. Congress and to President Trump asking that, should the Space Force be established, that it be headquartered in Florida.

The memorial requests Congress to approve the creation of the United States Space Force and the establishment of the Space Force and United States Space Command in Florida. The memorial follows a recent White House proposal by President Donald Trump, and Governor Ron DeSantis’ call for the Space Force to be headquartered in Florida. (3/26)

India Tests Anti-Satellite Weapon (Source: Space News)
India announced Wednesday that it successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon, destroying one of its own satellites. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a televised speech, said that the country demonstrated the ability to destroy satellites, a move he claimed shows the country "stands tall as a space power." According to the Indian government, the "Mission Shakti" used a ballistic missile interceptor to hit an unidentified satellite in a low orbit.

The test "was fully successful," the government declared. The targeted satellite is believed to be one of two small satellites in orbits between 250 and 350 kilometers high, which would minimize, but not necessarily eliminate, the amount of long-lived debris. The test will likely renew existing debates about space security and concerns about the creating of orbital debris. (3/27)

NASA's New Orders: Humans on the Moon in Five Years (Source: Space News)
Vice President Mike Pence directed NASA Tuesday to return humans to the surface of the moon within five years. Pence, speaking at a National Space Council meeting in Huntsville, Alabama, said urgency was required for NASA's human space exploration plans both because of competition from other nations as well as to battle complacency. Pence said that NASA should use "any means necessary" to get humans to the south pole of the moon by 2024, including shedding contractors who fail to deliver.

However, NASA endorsed continued development of the SLS, and said that the rocket will be used to launch Orion on the EM-1 mission next year after studying and rejecting commercial alternatives for that mission. The announcement gave few technical or fiscal details about how NASA can achieve a human landing by 2024, four years earlier than the agency's existing plans. (3/27)

New Moon Goal Reactions: Excitement, Concern (Source: Space News)
Reaction to the vice president's announcement ranged from excitement to concern. Some companies embraced the accelerated timeline, including Lockheed Martin, who said it had already been studying ways to speed up a human return to the moon using landers that incorporate technology from the Orion spacecraft as well as a scaled-down version of the lunar Gateway. An industry group, the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, cautioned that "bold plans must be matched by bold resources made available in a consistent manner in order to assure successful execution."

Members of a House appropriations subcommittee are expected to ask NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine about the plan during a hearing this afternoon on the NASA budget request. Editor's Note: It seems the orbiting Gateway project is more of a impediment than an enabler for a five-year human landing plan. (3/27)

Possible Failure for Chinese Commercial Launch (Source: Space News)
A first orbital launch by a Chinese company may have failed Wednesday. OneSpace was gearing up for the launch of its OS-M1 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Wednesday. Company executives said prior to the launch that they were "very excited" about the test, and said they felt that two earlier suborbital launches had prepared them for this flight, which was carrying a small satellite. However, posts on Chinese social media indicate that, while the rocket lifted off, it suffered a malfunction around the time the second stage ignited. The company has yet to comment on the outcome of the launch. (3/27)

Air Force Official Nominated to Lead US Space Command (Source: Space News)
The White House has nominated the head of Air Force Space Command to be the first commander of U.S. Space Command. President Trump on Tuesday nominated Air Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond to be the commander of U.S. Space Command, a new unified combatant command that will focus on space operations and war doctrine. Raymond will retain his role as Air Force Space Commander if confirmed by the Senate to lead Space Command. Raymond was widely expected to be nominated for the position because of his extensive experience organizing, training and equipping space forces. (3/27)

Commerce Dept. Sends White House 13 Space-Focused Spectrum Recommendations (Source: Space News)
The Commerce Department delivered a report on space-related spectrum issues Tuesday. The report, requested by Space Policy Directive 2 last May but months overdue, included 13 recommendations on topics ranging from signal interference to deep space communications meant to improve U.S. competitiveness. The report didn't dive into the ongoing battle between telecom satellite operators and cellular network operators over spectrum, nor did it comment on the FCC's decision to auction spectrum for 5G networks despite objections raised by NASA and NOAA over potential interference with weather satellites. (3/27)

Swarm Moving with FCC Toward 100-Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
Swarm Technologies is looking past its run-in with the FCC last year as it works to deploy a smallsat constellation. The company launched four small satellites last year despite having its FCC license application rejected, leading to a $900,000 fine from the FCC in December. Swarm CEO Sara Spangelo said in a recent interview that the company is now "working really productively" with the FCC on licensing issues. Swarm has seven satellites in orbit for Internet of Things applications and plans to have 100 in orbit by the end of this year, with the full constellation comprising 150 satellites. (3/27)

France and China Agree on Lunar Cooperation (Source: Global Times)
France and China have signed an agreement to fly experiments on a future lunar mission. The agreement between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the French space agency CNES, signed this week during a state visit to France by Chinese President Xi Jinping, includes flying French experiments on the Chang'e-6 lunar sample return mission, slated for launch in 2023 or 2024. The two agencies will continue cooperation in Earth sciences, including working on a new mission to study ocean salinity and soil moisture. Data from a Chinese-French oceanography satellite, CFOSat, launched last year, will be made available to scientists globally this spring. (3/27)

Another Chinese Launcher Start-Up Enters Commercial Space Race (Source: China Aerospace)
Yet another new Chinese launcher start-up has been revealed and put into the spotlight this week: Space Transportation Co. The company was actually founded in August 2018 but had been keeping a low profile ever since. However last Thursday, Source Code Capital published on its WeChat official account that “it had provided Space Transportation Co. several tens of millions of RMB” (1 USD = approx. 6.71 RMB) in an angel round to fund the start-up’s ambitious development agenda.

Based in Beijing, founded in August 2018, Space Transportation Co. is a launcher manufacturer which aims at developing reusable rockets for small payloads (100 – 1000 kg payload capacity on its Tian Xing – 1 rocket). Space Transportation has proposed an ambitious gliding landing system for rocket reusability. This is obvious on the illustrations of Tian Xing-1, which feature a pair of fin-shaped wings supposed to provide lift to enable gliding. (3/13)