April 2, 2019

NASA Funds Research for 'Bacteria Factories' for Future Space Missions (Source: Newsweek)
Thanks to recent developments in the field of synthetic biology, researchers have found a way to engineer bacteria so that they can produce spider silk and other hard-to-manufacture proteins which could be useful in future space missions. Spider silk is one of several protein-based substances that have evolved in nature, whose properties rival—and often surpass—even the most advanced man-made materials.

Spider silk, for example, is pound for pound, stronger and tougher than steel. However, unlike steel, it cannot be produced on large scales, limiting its usefulness to humans. If we were able to produce the material on a large-scale, it could be used in everything from surgical sutures to bullet-proof fabric. The problem is that individual spiders do no produce large quantities of it and keeping significant numbers of the animal together often results in cannibalism.

The synthetic spider-silk could be particularly useful on future long-term space missions, according to Fuzhong Zhang. "NASA is one of our funders, and they are interested in bio-production," he said. "They're currently developing technologies in which they can convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates that could be used as food for the microbes that we're engineering. That way, astronauts could produce these protein-based materials in space without bringing a large amount of feedstocks." (4/2)

Space Florida Mounting an Aggressive Campaign to Get Space Command Headquarters (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Space Florida is mounting a full-court press campaign to bring the headquarters of the United States’ 11th combatant command, Space Command, to Florida. At its board meeting in Tallahassee, the state’s spaceport authority discussed the communications and tactical campaigns it has organized to try to get Space Command, a unified branch that would help provide more effective command on space operations across military branches.

The board’s new chair, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez, stressed that the effort is “front and center” for the state, as Florida competes with Colorado, California, Alabama, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and Virginia for the headquarters. To clinch the headquarters, Space Florida is working in Washington, D.C., to try to determine what the Pentagon is envisioning for Space Command. In its fiscal year 2020 budget, the Pentagon is requesting nearly $84 million to establish the unit.

The spaceport authority is also working with the Florida Defense Task Force and the Florida Defense Alliance, a consortium of defense-related organizations and government officials. Both groups are under Enterprise Florida, the state’s economic development arm. Space Florida also is tapping into Florida’s network of retired three- and four-star military personnel whose connections and experience could support the Space Command push. Tampa, Jacksonville, the Panhandle, Miami and Orlando are also eager to help Florida prevail, Dale Ketcham said. (4/2)

SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA have big plans in store for Kennedy Space Center (Source: Puget Sound Business Journal)
Florida's Space Coast is gearing up for a boom in activity as more companies choose to build rockets in the area. Within a week, three giants in the space industry -- NASA, Blue Origin and SpaceX -- confirmed plans for new buildings at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, projects expected to bring high-wage jobs to the region as well as business opportunities to specialty contractors and part suppliers.

"This is definitely good news," said Dale Ketcham, vice president of government and external relations for Space Florida, the state's spaceport authority. "Being able to add additional services here obviously is a great thing, as more workforce talent will come here as work ramps up." (3/28)

Indian ASAT Test Increased Debris Risk to ISS (Source: Space News)
India's anti-satellite test last week increased the debris risk to the International Space Station, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Monday. Asked about the test in a town hall meeting, Bridenstine said that even though the event took place at an altitude of less than 300 kilometers, it created at least 24 pieces of debris with apogees above the 410-kilometer orbit of the station. That test, he claimed, increased the impact risk to the ISS by 44 percent over a 10-day period. His comments were the strongest criticism to date by a U.S. government official of the ASAT test. (4/2)

ExoAnalytic and NorthStar Plan Debris Tracking Venture (Source: Space News)
Two companies announced Monday a partnership to better track orbital debris. ExoAnalytic, a company that operates a network of ground-based telescopes, said it will work with NorthStar Earth and Space, which is planning a constellation with sensors to track orbital debris. The companies said last week's ASAT test by India highlighted growing concerns about space debris, although ExoAnalytic noted it wasn't currently tracking any debris from that test, citing a lack of a business case to support it. (4/2)

Bridenstine Moon Plan Weeks Away (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine hopes to have an initial plan for getting humans to the moon completed in the next couple of weeks. That plan will be coordinated within the administration, including the Office of Management and Budget, before sending it to Congress. He said that nothing "is off the table" regarding potential ways to get humans on the surface of the moon by 2024, but that the best option remained using the Space Launch System and Orion. He emphasized he would seek additional funding to carry out that plan and not "cannibalize" other parts of the agency, like science. (4/2)

Report Urges DOD to Change Launch Procurement Approach (Source: Space News)
A new report calls on the Defense Department to change how it procures launches. The report released Monday by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and funded by a number of companies, calls on Congress and the National Space Council to find ways of "achieving true and real competition in the national security launch market." One possibility, the report recommends, is through the use of indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contracts with a number of companies, which could provide better value and increased competitiveness over current approaches that call for awarding contracts to only two providers. (4/2)

Lunar Lander Firm OrbitBeyond Eyes Florida for New Facility (Source: UPI)
Lunar lander company OrbitBeyond is eyeing Florida for a new facility. That would make it the latest so-called Newspace commercial company to join growing space race momentum in the Sunshine State. The board at Space Florida, the state's economic development agency for space, moved toward an agreement Monday to provide $1 million worth of assistance or help obtaining financing to the New Jersey-based OrbitBeyond.

Space Florida is negotiating terms of the final agreement to develop an assembly and integration facility for OrbitBeyond's lunar lander in Florida. The firm was one of nine companies NASA chose in 2018 to compete for lunar transportation contracts for robotic landers in a program valued at $2.6 billion. Others include Astrobotic Technology; Deep Space Systems; Draper; Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines; Masten Space Systems; Lockheed Martin Space Systems; and Moon Express. (4/1)