May 31, 2019

NASA Picks Three Companies to Attempt Moon Landings in 2020 and 2021 (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA has begun to make good on its promise to use commercial companies to help with its lunar exploration efforts. On Friday, the space agency announced that it has contracted with three companies—Orbit Beyond, Astrobotic, and Intuitive Machines—to deliver scientific payloads to the Moon in the years 2020 and 2021. The announcement is significant for several reasons, not least because no private company has ever landed successfully on the Moon and because the U.S. has not made a soft landing on the Moon in 46 years.

This program, formally named Commercial Lunar Payload Services, represents the vanguard of a decade-long plan for NASA to return to the Moon and potentially establish an outpost for crew on the surface. With this first tentative step, NASA will attempt to better characterize the lunar surface for human activity, and it will begin to study the potential for using resources there. NASA awarded $97 million to a New Jersey-based company, Orbit Beyond, to send its Z-01 lander to a lava plain about 30 degrees north of the lunar equator in September 2020. The spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket, presumably as one of several customers on the booster.

NASA's other two awards went to companies who, at present, plan to launch in July 2021. Astrobotic, of Pittsburgh, received $79.5 million to fly as many as 14 payloads to Lacus Mortis, a large crater on the near side of the Moon. It will launch on either a Falcon 9 or Atlas V rocket. Intuitive Machines, of Houston, received $77 million to fly as many as five payloads to Oceanus Procellarum, a scientifically intriguing dark spot on the Moon. It will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. (5/31)

Sources Say Stratolaunch Closing Operations, Selling Assets (Source: Reuters)
Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, the space company founded by late billionaire and Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, is closing operations, cutting short ambitious plans to challenge traditional aerospace companies in a new “space race,” four people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The company, a unit of Allen’s privately held investment vehicle Vulcan Inc, had been developing a portfolio of launch vehicles including the world’s largest airplane by wingspan to launch satellites and eventually humans into space.

Allen, who founded Seattle-based Stratolaunch in 2011, died at age 65 last October. Vulcan has been exploring a possible sale of Stratolaunch’s assets and intellectual property, according to one of the four sources and also a fifth person. A representative of Stratolaunch Systems Corp declined to comment. Efforts to reach Vulcan Inc for comment were not successful. The four persons familiar with the matter all spoke on condition of anonymity, as did the fifth source, citing the confidential nature of the matter. (5/31)

Northrop Grumman to Investigate OmegA Motor Test Anomaly (Source: Space News)
Northrop Grumman on Thursday conducted a full-scale static fire test of the first stage of OmegA, the company’s new rocket it is developing for national security missions. Company officials called it a successful test although it appeared that something went wrong near the end when sparks and burning debris were seen coming out of the nozzle. More than 12 feet in diameter and 80 feet long, the first stage fired for 122 seconds at the company’s test facility in Utah. The static fire produced more than two million pounds of maximum thrust — roughly the equivalent to that of eight-and-a-half jumbo jets.

The test verified the performance of the motor’s ballistics, insulation and joints as well as control of the nozzle position, Northrop Grumman said. “What we observed today was successful test,” said Kent Rominger, Northrop Grumman’s vice president and capture lead for the OmegA launch system. “It appears that everything worked very well. At the very end when the engine was tailing off, we observed the aft exit cone, maybe a portion of it, doing something a little strange that we need to go further look into.” (5/30)

Russian Proton Launches Comm Sat at Baikonur (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Proton successfully launched a Russian communications satellite Thursday. The Proton lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1:42 p.m. Eastern, releasing the Yamal-601 satellite into its planned transfer orbit about nine hours later. Yamal-601, built by Thales Alenia Space for Russian operator Gazprom Space Systems, weighed about 5,400 kilograms at launch and carries C- and Ka-band transponders that will provide service to Russia and neighboring regions from 49 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit. The launch was the first this year for the Proton; the next, of the Spektr-RG astronomy satellite, is scheduled for June 21. (5/31)

NASA: Sustained Presence on the Moon Will Be a Good Investment (Source: USA Today)
America has a historic opportunity to put the first woman and next man on the moon’s surface by 2024. This time, to stay. NASA’s Artemis program focuses on new technologies that create jobs and secure U.S. leadership in exploration. The proposed budget amendment gives us the boost we need. Apollo spurred a technological revolution from which we still benefit — everything from satellites and computers to a threefold increase in students pursuing advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

Yet when the last person walked the moon in 1972, there was no opportunity for a woman to participate. The Artemis Generation changes that. Our nation must take the next giant leap so long promised. As a female astronaut, I followed pioneers like Sally Ride to space and helped solidify their gains. Women’s next frontier will be the moon. Nothing will inspire the next generation more than a sustained presence on the moon leading to deep space exploration.

Our return to the moon also drives new technologies. And the scientific discoveries of recent years leave no doubt the moon has much more to reveal about Earth and our solar system. We’re not going alone. Other nations are excited to join us, and many partners have committed or are discussing potential contributions to a future on the moon. A vibrant commercial sector is working with us right now to develop human lunar landers and habitats, and other capabilities to explore more of the moon than ever before. (5/28)

Bridenstine: Artemis Budget Debate Just Beginning (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the debate is just beginning on the agency's proposed budget amendment to fund its Artemis lunar program. Speaking at a NASA Advisory Council meeting Thursday, Bridenstine criticized claims that the budget amendment, which seeks an additional $1.6 billion in 2020, was "dead on arrival" because the House didn't include it in its appropriations bill. He noted the amendment was released the same week House appropriators marked up the bill, and thus it was "just not realistic" for them to consider it. He said he hopes the Senate will consider the budget amendment, citing positive comments from Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KN), who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA. [SpaceNews]

NASA-Sponsored Studies Show Varied Interests in LEO Commercialization (Source: Space News)
LEO commercialization studies performed for NASA last year show a wide range of potential markets and demand. Public summaries of the 12 studies, released by NASA this week, show a wide range of concepts and potential markets for commercial use of the ISS or follow-on commercial space stations. NASA officials said there was little agreement among the studies about the forecast of demand, but said companies expected NASA to be an anchor tenant at least in the early phases of those commercial ventures. NASA is planning to update its own forecast for potential use of commercial facilities and is revising a commercial use policy for the ISS in an effort to stimulate demand. (5/31)

Airbus Taking Lead in GEO Satellite Orders (Source: Space News)
An award by Inmarsat has extended the lead Airbus has in the commercial GEO satellite market this year. The three-satellite award announced by Inmarsat Thursday means that Airbus Defence and Space has won six of the eight GEO satellites ordered so far this year, counting two it is co-building with Thales Alenia Space. The first of the three Inmarsat-7 satellites ordered Thursday will take three and a half years to build and launch, but subsequent ones should be completed in as little as 18 months "from flash to bang, from order to actual launch," an Inmarsat executive said. (5/31)

Austraila to Host NASA Suborbital Launches (Source: ABC)
An Australian launch site will host NASA sounding rockets. Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) will host four launches of NASA sounding rockets carrying scientific experiments next year under a NASA contract to be awarded in the near future. The launches will take place from a site in Australia's Northern Territory several hundred kilometers east of the city of Darwin. (5/31)

NATO to Adopt First Space Policy in June (Source: Sputnik)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will adopt its first space policy in June, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Tuesday. "We are now also working on an overarching space policy, another first for NATO. And next month, I expect NATO defence ministers will adopt our new space policy," Stoltenberg said after the meeting of national security advisers in Brussels. Stoltenberg also said NATO needs to strengthen the resilience of its telecommunication networks, 5G, undersea cables and space assets. (5/31)

Russian Cosmonauts Remove a Towel That Spent 10 Years on Surface of ISS (Source: Sputnik)
A towel, taken from the surface of the ISS is being examined for microorganisms that could have inhabited the cloth, lead researcher for the Institute of Medical and Biological Issues of the Russian Academy of Sciences Svetlana Poddubko told RIA Novosti. It was earlier reported that Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Alexei Ovchinin had removed a towel from the surface of the International Space Station during their scheduled spacewalk. The towel remained outside the station for 10 years.

The towel was originally meant to clean astronauts' spacesuits during their work in outer space. It was left by a Russian cosmonaut about a decade ago. Mr Kononenko and Mr Ovchinin removed the towel from the station's surface and placed it in a special container. It will be sent back to Earth and delivered to a group of experts for further examination. Editor's Note: Russia has made some interesting claims in the past of finding living organisms on the exterior of the ISS. I have yet to see NASA acknowledgement of these findings. (5/31)

ESA Signs Contracts for Enhanced Ariane 6 Composite Upper Stage Technologies (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed two contracts for technology maturation with MT Aerospace AG, an affiliate of the listed OHB SE space and technology group and with ArianeGroup, lead contractor for Ariane 6. MT Aerospace and ArianeGroup are combining their respective skills in Augsburg and Bremen to design and test the Prototype of a Highly OptimizEd Black Upper Stage (PHOEBUS). The continuous evolution of the Ariane 6 launcher in terms of greater competitiveness and improved performance requires the exploration and utilization of composite technologies. (5/21)

SpaceX Valuation Rises to $33.3 Billion (Source: CNBC)
Elon Musk’s second-most famous business may soon top his first. The value of SpaceX has risen to $33.3 billion, people familiar with the company’s recent fundraising told CNBC. In an amendment of its April fundraising effort, a filing last week from SpaceX showed the company’s latest round brought in $536 million at a price of $204 a share. SpaceX has raised just over $1 billion this year, as the company accelerates fundraising to develop its plan to beam high-speed internet to anywhere on Earth.

Additionally, Musk’s space company is now more valuable than his electric vehicle company. Tesla shares closed down on Friday giving the company a market value of $32.8 billion – just below SpaceX’s valuation.

SpaceX’s valuation has risen steadily as the company has raised funding for rockets, spacecraft and more over the past decade. Most recently, SpaceX was reportedly valued at $30.5 billion. The company has been able to draw investment from private markets with ease, as a person familiar with SpaceX’s fundraising this year said both its equity raises were oversubscribed. In the most recent round, investor demand meant SpaceX could have raised between $300 million to $400 million more than it did, the person said. (5/31)