May 23, 2019

45th Weather Squadron Explains Criteria Behind Scrubbing Launches (Source: Spectrum News 13)
One group gives the “go” or “no-go” decision for every launch from the Space Coast. It's the responsibility of the 45th Weather Squadron to get it right on launch day. "That's our main deal on launch days — making sure that we do not violate that criteria," said Mike McAleenan, 45th Weather Squadron Officer. The team uses Launch Commit Criteria based on the kind of rocket, plus weather factors like surface winds, upper level winds, temperature, and visibility.

Using technology like radar, weather balloons, and more to make sure it's safe to begin the mission. In the past 30 years of missions lifting off from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, 48 percent of scrubs are due to weather violations. Of late, upper level winds some 60,000 feet up have been to blame for delaying one of SpaceX’s last two launch attempts. Officers say last Wednesday the winds were a whopping 120 knots at 30,000 feet — that's nearly 100 knots above acceptable. (5/22)

When It Comes To Nanosatellites, The Hype Is Over (Source: Aviation Week)
2014 was a pivotal year for new satellite companies: Google acquired Skybox Imaging for $500 million and Planet Labs (now Planet) deployed its first two cubesats. Both were founded with a vision to revolutionize access to information generated from timely, very-high-resolution satellite image data with cutting-edge data extraction and analysis. From then on, it looked like it would be only a matter of years before LEO would be filled with thousands of small satellites and tens of commercial constellations. Investors grabbed the opportunity, and billions of dollars followed.

It is time for a reality check. A study by Paragon offers a sobering view. In a nutshell: the hype is over. Today, only two commercial nanosatellite constellations are operational: Planet and Spire Global. Together they account for 90% of all commercial nanosatellites launched (excluding academic, scientific and institutional satellites), the total of which was a mere 500 or so at the end of 2018. These two constellations still fall short in terms of service performance, to the point where Planet had to make a “pact with the devil” by partnering with Airbus, the player it was meant to disrupt. And Spire is still trying to figure out how to monetize its growing fleet of cubesats.

All indicators point to the industry being in a phase that technologists call the “trough of disillusionment”: Following a period of inflated expectations, the sector has now entered a period of uncertainty and transition from the visionary phase to the pragmatic phase of innovation and market adoption. Paragon estimates the current industry maturity level at around 15%, which means the actual level of industry revenues is 15% of what it should generate based on the theoretical market size (which is itself based on all the announced constellation projects). Click here. (5/20)

An Embarrassment of Rockets? (Source: Space News)
Some people see the proliferation of startups developing rocket engines as a sign of the space industry’s vibrancy. Jeff Greason calls it “f—ing insane.” “It’s a sign of the immaturity of the industry,” Greason said. In every other transportation industry, vehicles adopt common engines because engine development is labor-intensive, time-consuming and requires a lot of specialized expertise, said Greason, who leads Agile Aero, a company focused on rapid prototyping for aerospace vehicles. “If you don’t divide that among many units of production, you’re not competitive.”

Despite that warning, launch vehicle startups remain focused on unique engine designs. At last count, there were 129 rocket startups, Rich Pournelle, NanoRacks senior vice president for business development, said. How many will survive? Eric Salwan, Firefly Aerospace commercial business development director, suggested the market could support three, four or five.

Because it’s sometimes difficult to gauge the progress of the small launch vehicle startups, Pournelle shared his own criteria. Has the company fired its rocket engine in flight configuration for the full duration required? And if so, how often do they fly? Only Rocket Lab has completed the full-duration burn. As of April 18, the company had sent 25 satellites into orbit on four launches of its Electron rocket from the company’s private launch site in New Zealand. (5/22)

Space Travel is Set to Rocket (Source: Financial Times)
50 years since man first set foot on the moon, the business opportunity presented by space travel has morphed from science-fiction to reality. UBS Global Research predicts the industry to rocket - becoming an $800 billion plus industry by the end of 2030. Discover the outlook for tourism, such as hotels in space, and the opportunities offered by servicing the long-haul aviation sector. Click here. (5/22)

Can Trump Put NASA Astronauts on the Moon by 2024? It’s Unlikely (Source: New York Times)
Although Mr. Trump signed a directive in December 2017 that set the moon as the next destination for NASA astronauts, he has barely talked about the moon publicly. At rallies, he has been more likely to tout the Space Force, a proposed new military branch. The apparently scant attention by the president is just one hurdle that Mr. Bridenstine and NASA are facing in trying to send people back to the moon — in a program they’ve named Artemis — for the first time since 1972.

Reaction in Congress has been lukewarm, especially among Democrats who may be reluctant to give billions of dollars to NASA when the Trump administration is seeking deep cuts in scientific research. In addition, the history of space projects, big and small, is that they are almost never completed on time. These factors seem to make it unlikely that astronauts will set foot on the moon during a second term of Mr. Trump’s presidency, if he is re-elected. Still, pursuing this goal could help speed the status quo at NASA. That might make it more likely the agency could make the original 2028 timetable, or even move it up a year or two.

Vice President Mike Pence has spoken of the moon mission in sweeping and urgent language: “Failure to achieve our goal to return an American astronaut to the moon in the next five years is not an option,” he said in March. In mid-March, the Trump administration’s budget request to Congress still followed a timeline for reaching the moon in 2028. But a week later, Pence told Bridenstine that the White House wanted to accelerate the moon landing to 2024, setting off a rush of revisions. Few members of Congress, Republicans or Democrats, offered enthusiastic endorsements. (5/23)

Huge Amount of Water Ice Is Spotted on Mars (It Could Be Long-Lost Polar Ice Caps) (Source: Space.com)
Scientists think they've stumbled on a new cache of water ice on Mars — and not just any ice but a layered mix of ice and sand representing the last traces of long-lost polar ice caps. That's according to new research based on data gathered by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been circling the Red Planet since 2006 and has just marked its 60,000th trip around Mars. (5/23)

Experts Skeptical of SpaceX Plan for Starlink Maneuverability (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
SpaceX’s plan to have Starlink satellites autonomously maneuver around collision risks in orbit has some experts skeptical. SpaceX says Starlink satellites will directly receive Air Force tracking data and use that to tweak their orbits when at risk of a collision. Space debris experts say the probability of a collision varies on a case-by-case basis, making automation difficult. “If [you react when] someone tells you there’s a 1 in 10,000 chance that you’re going to hit, you’ll be making a lot of maneuvers,” Hugh Lewis, a space debris expert, said. “If you set your level at 1 in 50, you won’t be making lots of maneuvers but you’re potentially going to be hit. I think the ultimate decision should have a human being involved in it.” (5/22)

USC Student Rocket Sets Altitude Record at New Mexico Spaceport (Source: Spaceport America)
Spaceport America and the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering Rocket Propulsion Lab announced with a high degree of certainty a record-breaking rocket launch took place from Spaceport America’s Vertical Launch Complex-1 on April 21. USC’s team is the first university team to launch a rocket that reached the Kármán Line. (5/22)

Blue Origin, ULA and Northrop Grumman Weigh In on Multibillion-Dollar SpaceX Rocket Lawsuit (Source: GeekWire)
Blue Origin and subsidiaries of ULA and Northrop Grumman are asking to intervene in a SpaceX lawsuit protesting $2.3 billion in rocket development awards to those three companies. SpaceX says it was unfairly passed over when the awards were made last October — and disparages the three companies’ rocket projects. Government lawyers informed Blue Origin and United Launch Services on Monday that they were interested parties in SpaceX’s lawsuit.

As a result, Blue Origin, United Launch Services, and Northrop Grumman filed motions to intervene in the suit. All three companies said neither SpaceX nor the government objected to their taking part. The judge in the case has not yet ruled on the motions. SpaceX’s protest had to do with a series of Air Force contracts that support the development of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, ULA’s Vulcan rocket and Northrop Grumman’s OmegA rocket for future national security launches. The maximum allotments for work through 2024 are $500 million for Blue Origin, $967 million for ULA, and $791.6 million for Northrop Grumman.

SpaceX says it was given short shrift by the Air Force and was more deserving of receiving an award than the other three companies. It said it could provide most of the services sought for national security launches at a significantly lower price, although the filing was redacted to conceal just how much lower. Click here. (5/22)

Engineer Falsified Reports on Critical SpaceX Parts, Prosecutors Say (Source: LA Times)
A New York employee of a now-defunct aerospace-machining supplier has been charged with falsifying at least three dozen quality-assurance reports for parts that went into SpaceX rockets, prosecutors said. James Smalley, 41, of Penn Yan, N.Y., forged signatures on source-inspection reports for parts that were used for the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets while he worked at PMI Industries LLC, a firm that specialized in “high-tolerance machining for flight-critical aerospace parts.”

If convicted, Smalley could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said. In January 2018, an internal audit directed by SpaceX found signatures supposedly from one of the subcontractor’s inspectors on “multiple” source-inspection reports and testing certifications from PMI Industries. Prosecutors said they believed the inspector’s signature was photocopied and “cut and pasted” onto the reports with a computer. Smalley told FBI agents that he forged inspector signatures about 15 to 30 times on the final reports. (5/23)

China Launch May Have Failed to Achieve Proper Orbit (Source: Space News)
A Chinese launch of a reconnaissance satellite Wednesday may have failed. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre at 6:49 p.m. Eastern, carrying the Yaogan-33 reconnaissance satellite. However, Chinese officials have not confirmed the success of the launch, as is usually the case with such missions, and there is speculation that the satellite may have failed to reach orbit for some undisclosed reason. (5/22)

Canada Considers Accelerating Gateway Contribution (Source: Space News)
The Canadian Space Agency is considering a faster schedule for its contributions to the lunar Gateway to keep pace with NASA's accelerated return to the moon. Sylvain Laporte, president of the Canadian Space Agency, said Wednesday that his agency's plans to cooperate on the Gateway are "evolving" after the U.S. government said it sought to land humans on the moon in 2024, four years earlier than previously announced. That has changed plans for development of the Gateway, to which Canada has announced its intent to provide a robotic arm. Laporte said Canada could accelerate its work accordingly, if that would benefit the overall Gateway project. (5/23)

First Successful CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing on International Space Station (Source: Genes in Space)
For the first time, astronauts have used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to edit DNA in space. The gene editing technique was deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) to induce targeted breaks in the yeast genome. Molecular changes left behind as yeast repair these breaks will provide clues about how cells repair their DNA in space. This investigation was co-led by student winners of the 2018 Genes in Space national science competition co-founded by Boeing and miniPCR Bio. (5/23)

Comet Provides New Clues to Origins of Earth’s Oceans (Source: NASA)
The mystery of why Earth has so much water, allowing our “blue marble” to support an astounding array of life, is clearer with new research into comets. A new study reveals that the water in many comets may share a common origin with Earth’s oceans, reinforcing the idea that comets played a key role in bringing water to our planet billions of years ago. (5/23)

OneWeb On Schedule for Autumn Launches (Source: Advanced Television)
According to Russia’s Sputnik news agency the first OneWeb satellites that will be launched by Soyuz-2 rockets from the Baikonur cosmodrome are on schedule for delivery to the launch site late summer or early autumn. Launches are currently planned to start in December with each rocket carrying 35 per month. “Deliveries of OneWeb satellites to the Baikonur cosmodrome will start in late summer or early fall of 2019, and [subsequent deliveries] to the Vostochny cosmodrome [will begin] in early 2020,” Sputnik states quoting an unnamed source at Baikonur.

In 2015, Russian Space Agency Roscosmos signed contracts with OneWeb and France’s Arianespace to carry out a total of 21 commercial launches from French Guiana’s Kourou, as well as Russia’s Baikonur and Vostochny spaceports, to send 672 satellites to space with the help of Soyuz rockets. OneWeb has already stated that it will start commercial services in 2021. (5/21)

A Government Coup by NASA’s Bureaucracy (Source: American Greatness)
While cleaning house in the FBI, CIA, and Justice Department might do much to squelch any future power grabs from those quarters, it appears it will do little to end the unchecked expansion of power by the unelected federal bureaucracy. The general historical trend this scandal epitomizes and makes evident continues unabated throughout the entire federal government, and unless we take a wider view we are guaranteed to see similar coup attempts in the future. As only one example, NASA’s new project, Lunar Gateway, illustrates the increased and unchecked power of the federal bureaucracy quite starkly, but it does so without any of the partisan politics that surround the scandals involving Trump.

The Lunar Gateway space station that NASA wants to build is an entirely unprecedented big government project, and it is unprecedented in a way that no one recognizes. Consider the history of all past big government space projects. When we went to the moon in the 1960s, the entire program was proposed publicly by John F. Kennedy, an elected president, and approved and budgeted by an elected Congress. When we built the Space Shuttle in the 1970s, the project was proposed publicly by Richard Nixon, an elected president, and approved and budgeted by an elected Congress. [And so on.]

Every single big space project since the founding of NASA has always been proposed and approved by elected officials. NASA officials might have lobbied for one version or another, but always, always, it was understood and accepted that the project did not exist without first getting an enthusiastic and very public authorization from elected officials. What was understood without question was that the right to make these fundamental policy decisions belonged only to the lawmakers, elected as they were by the citizenry under the Constitution. NASA’s new Lunar Gateway project, however, is something altogether different. (5/22)

House Appropriators Say No to Elevating Office of Space Commerce (Source: Space Policy Online)
The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) said no to the Trump Administration’s proposal to elevate the Office of Space Commerce from NOAA to the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and merge it with NOAA’s Office of Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs (CRSRA).  That keeps Trump Administration plans to make the Department of Commerce (DOC) the “one-stop shop” for commercial space in limbo.

DOC is funded in the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill, the same one that funds NASA.  The FY2020 bill was approved at subcommittee level last week and will face the full committee tomorrow.  The committee released the draft text of the report to accompany the bill today, which provides details on what the subcommittee recommended.

The Office of Space Commerce and CRSRA are currently part of NOAA, which also is part of DOC.  Each is funded at $1.8 million.  The Trump Administration’s budget request is to merge them, elevate them organizationally so they report directly to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and add $6.4 million to the $3.6 million they jointly have now — a total of $10 million for FY2020. (5/21)

NASA Covers for SpaceX (Source: American Thinker)
Video footage of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon space capsule exploding on the ground during an April 20 test at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport was leaked online by the next day. Yet SpaceX and NASA are unacceptably dragging their feet in explaining this taxpayer-financed fiasco in the American space program and thus continued SpaceX’s worrisome undue influence on government. SpaceX’s April 20 press release with its “anomaly” euphemism was immediately contradicted by images showing toxic reddish smoke clouds billow upwards from the space center. The accident is a poor omen for the Crew Dragon, in which NASA wants to transport astronauts to the ISS.

“‘Anomaly’ is a vague industry buzzword that tells the public zilch about what happened to a program that the federal government is spending billions on,” an Orlando Sentinel editorial criticized. “There’s been no press conference. No opportunity to ask questions of company executives. No detailed news releases. No photos or video of the damage.”

NASA appears to be acting more like Musk’s public-relations department, not a taxpayer-funded government agency, and not for the first time. In 2015, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded shortly after launch, obliterating more than two tons of provisions heading for the ISS. The normally fast-acting NASA reacted with unexpected lethargy, raising suspicions by individuals like Representative Lamar Smith of favoritism towards SpaceX. (5/22)

How NASA Failed Female Astronauts and Built Space Travel for Men (Source: WIRED)
Female astronauts, it seems, have never been high on NASA’s list of priorities. But now the space agency seems eager to make up for past wrongs. Last week, NASA announced plans to put the first woman on the Moon by 2024, and secured an extra $1.6 billion to help complete the task. But to get the first woman on the Moon, NASA will have to start by overturning half a century of failing to accommodate women in the space program.

Decades of overlooking women have left the agency with a lack of data about female astronauts that means we don’t fully understand the impact space has on women’s bodies, and left those women that do make it up to space having to contend with equipment that was built with only men in mind. NASA’s disregard of women goes right back to its foundations. The agency was established in 1958, after Russia had sent two satellites into orbit and the US wanted to get ahead in the space race. The first program of missions to send people into space, Project Mercury, began later that year. (5/22)

Introducing Boeing's Starliner Spacecraft (Source: YourCentralValley.com)
After nearly a decade US Astronauts will be heading back into space from US soil. In part two of our exclusive coverage, Marina Jurica is introducing us to Starliner, the capsule that will take our astronauts and someday tourists out of this world. For the next two months, Boeing and United will be doing a series of tests before the first launch in August. Unmanned and then the actual launch later this fall with the Astronauts. Click here. (5/21)

Air Force's Space Fence Detects Debris From India Anti-Satellite Test (Source: Lockheed Martin)
The U.S. Air Force Space Fence system detected the breakup field from an anti-satellite test conducted by India during a scheduled endurance exercise of the new space surveillance radar. As MICROSAT-R was expected to pass through the un-cued surveillance fence, Space Fence automatically issued a "breakup alert" indicating there were multiple objects within close proximity. Space Fence observed a significant amount of debris tracks surrounding the time of the event crossing labeled as uncorrelated targets. Long-arc tracking was initiated within the orbital debris cloud to form accurate initial orbit determinations. With this information, the system was able to automatically predict and correlate the next crossing time. (5/22)

Are Laser Links Ready for Prime Time? (Source: Space News)
Although NASA’s Mars Laser Communications Demonstration never flew, the project proceeded far enough to establish a price for terminals to relay data for the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter: $90 million. In contrast, costs for NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) terminals were “on the order of $30 million” and the space agency is likely to pay $10 million to $15 million for Orion crew capsule laser terminals. NASA’s TeraByte InfraRed Delivery, a cubesat to demonstrate optical links from the ground to low Earth orbit, will employ $100,000 terminals. “The bottom line is the costs are coming down,” Bernard Edwards said.

Private companies are addressing that challenge and proving optical communications systems are ready for government and commercial applications, said Barry Matsumori, chief executive for BridgeSat, a company building a network of laser-equipped ground stations. Several companies including BridgeSat sell optical communications terminals or ground stations. Satellite communications service providers, meanwhile, are adopting the technology. Kongsberg Satellite Services is working with Tesat-Spacecom to add optical nodes to its ground station network. (5/22)

Momentum Grows for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (Source: Space News)
With congressional funding and industry support, nuclear thermal propulsion technology is making progress for potential use on future NASA deep space missions, although how it fits into the agency’s exploration architectures remains uncertain. The House Appropriations Committee approved an appropriations bill that offers $22.3 billion for NASA. That funding includes $125 million for nuclear thermal propulsion development within the agency’s space technology program, compared to an administration request for no funding. (5/22)