June 5, 2019

Canadian Spaceport in Nova Scotia Gets Environment Ministry Approval to Move Forward (Source: SpaceQ)
Today Nova Scotia Environment gave the approval for Maritime Launch Services (MLS) to move forward with its plan to build a spaceport in the Hazel Hill – Canso area of Guysborough County. Maritime Launch Services is a Halifax based startup looking to build a spaceport in Nova Scotia to launch satellites. They plan on initially using a Ukrainian Yuzhnoye designed Cyclone 4M medium-class rocket which is being built by Yuzhmash, also of the Ukraine. The spaceport could eventually be home to other launch companies as well.

It was just over a month ago that the Gordon Wilson was appointed as the new Nova Scotia Minister of Environment. His department provided its recommendation to the Minister two weeks ago, meaning he had to get-up-to speed on the file very quickly. For Maritime Launch Services this marks the most significant milestone to date, and one where a negative decision would have meant the the end of the project. Two of the MLS’s immediate objectives include getting the land lease approved as soon as possible, and closing an initial round of outside financing. (6/4)

Harris to Build New Satellite Connection System Prototype for USAF (Source: USAF)
Harris Corporation (will build and demonstrate a prototype ground antenna system under a U.S. Air Force Defense Innovation Unit program designed to improve communications with the agency's growing number of satellites. The prototype will feature multi-band, multi-mission, digital beam-forming phased array antennas to improve the Air Force's ground system capability. The phased array antennas would maintain contact with multiple satellites simultaneously, versus traditional dish antennas that can only support one contact at a time. (6/3)

TechDemoSat-1 Deploys Drag Sail for De-Orbit (Source: Space Daily)
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has released an image showing the successful deployment of the de-orbit drag sail on-board TechDemoSat-1. The deployment of the Icarus-1 drag sail, which was supplied by Cranfield University, marks the end of mission operations for SSTL's TechDemoSat-1 small satellite which was launched into a 635 km Low Earth Orbit in 2014.

TechDemoSat-1, a 150 kg in-orbit technology demonstration small satellite mission, validated 8 innovative UK spacecraft instruments and software payloads and also acquired ocean wind speed datasets using GNSS reflectometry. The deployed sail measures approximately 6.7 m2 and is designed to significantly increase the spacecraft's rate of orbital decay, in compliance with current Space Debris Mitigation best practice and guidelines. (6/3)

RUAG Space Produces Thermal Insulation for Launchers (Source: Space Daily)
Europe's leading space supplier, RUAG Space, kicked off a new product line. RUAG Space has started providing thermal insulation for launch vehicles. "We have more than 25 years of experience in high-quality thermal insulation for satellites. Building upon this knowledge we enter a new market segment and produce thermal insulation for launchers", says Peter Guggenbach, CEO RUAG Space.

For the new product RUAG Space can build on its established processes and competencies in the area of thermal hardware. "During the journey from Earth to space the launcher engines have to withstand extreme heat from up to 1,500 degree Celsius for a few minutes." These temperatures are much higher than the typical -150 to +150 degree Celsius a thermal insulation for satellites has to withstand in orbit. (6/3)

New Russian Soyuz-5 Launcher Should Conquer Commercial Market (Source: Sputnik)
The new Russian Soyuz-5 launcher will aim at conquering the commercial market, Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin said. "We have some reserve of possibilities, so we aim at competing with them [the U.S.] in this field. Moreover, the Soyuz-5 launcher, which will be constructed here, in Samara, aims exactly at conquering the commercial market but not just at solving state tasks," Rogozin said. He added that the price of the new launcher should be low enough for competitors to give way to Russia despite all the "twists" of their economic policies. (6/2)

Mysterious Unexplained Flashes of Light Spotted on the Moon (Source: Metro)
Scientists have launched a bid to observe and understand mysterious flashes of light on the surface of the moon. The ‘transient luminous lunar phenomena’ occur several times a week and illuminate parts of the moon’s landscape for a brief period of time before disappearing. Sometimes, a reverse effect which causes the lunar surface to darken has also been observed. Although there are several theories about the lunar mystery lights’ origins, they have not yet been fully explained.

Now astronomers from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany have set up a telescope which will use artificial intelligence to automatically detect the flashes. When a burst of light is spotted, the telescope will then collect video or photographs of the phenomena which will be studied to help scientists understand the flashes. (5/31)

Everyone Needs a Good Pillow -- Even Astronauts Bound for Mars (Source: WIRED)
By all accounts sleeping in space is a dream. After a long day of running experiments and rigorous exercise, astronauts on the International Space Station retire to their padded sleep pods, which have just enough room to fit the astronaut, a laptop mounted to a wall, and a few practical items. To prevent themselves from drifting through the station while catching some zero-g z’s, astronauts snuggle into a sleeping bag mounted to the wall of their sleep pod. As they start to slumber, their bodies relax and their arms drift out in front of them, making them look like floating zombies.

Absent from astronauts’ bedrooms, though, are pillows. In microgravity you don’t need one—you don’t even need to hold your head. Instead, it just naturally tips forward. But just because pillows aren’t needed in space doesn’t mean that astronauts shouldn’t have them. A pillow is the ultimate token of comfort and home, a place to rest one’s head, be vulnerable, find peace. People bring their own pillows to hospitals as a way to import coziness to the coldness of a clinic. So why not bring one to the deep freeze of space?

It’s considerations like these that keep Tibor Balint up at night. As a principal human-centered designer at NASA JPL, Balint spends his time looking for ways to incorporate art and design principles into human space endeavors. Balint and his colleague sought to create an object that would provide comfort, reduce stress, and enhance the privacy of astronauts on a multiyear mission to the Red Planet. The pair ultimately landed on the pillow as their ideal “boundary object,” an item that sits at the crossroads of various disciplines and could spark conversations applicable to other facets of space life. (5/31)

NASA Experts: Complacency and Silence are the Enemies of Spaceflight Safety (Source: Florida Today)
Launching rockets and people to space is risky. But complacency and people unwilling to discuss their concerns about those risks make it even riskier. That was the main takeaway from "Return to Flight Lessons Learned," a panel discussion Tuesday at the 46th Space Congress being held in Cape Canaveral this week.

"If something bothers you, speak up. Other people are probably thinking the same thing," said William Parsons, NASA's shuttle program manager who led the effort to return the shuttle to flight after the Columbia disaster in 2003. The panel, moderated by Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, consisted of three others besides Parsons familiar with the hazards of space travel and the challenges of returning to flight after an accident. (6/4)

Space Coast High Schoolers to Send CubeSat to Space on Falcon Heavy Launch (Source: Spectrum 13)
A group of Brevard County high schoolers are eagerly awaiting the next Space Coast rocket launch. Why? When the next Space X Falcon Heavy soars to space June 22, so too will be their NASA-mentored high school project. The tiny CubeSat was designed, built, and tested by the StangSat club at Merritt Island High School. StangSat, is short for Mustangs, the school mascot. The group of students are partnering with Cal/Poly in California.

“(The) whole point of our satellite is to measure shock and vibration data," said Isabella Piasecki, who just graduated from Merritt Island High. "Which needs to be measured as the rocket is going up." Using Wi-Fi, the satellite will collect that data, then later transfer it to the ground. The goal is to test how the CubeSat withstands the rigors of spaceflight. "I get goosebumps listening to them talk, explain the satellite, talk about their experiences," said Tracey Beatovich, who worked on satellites in the Air Force and is thrilled how far the students have come. (6/4)

NASA Offers Mixed Messages on Future Budgets (Source: Space News)
While NASA leadership says it won't take money from other agency programs to fund the Artemis lunar program, others warn cuts may be needed. At a meeting of the NASA Advisory Council last week, Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said that after 2020 the cost of the Artemis program is unlikely to be funded entirely by overall budget increases for the agency, unlike the $1.6 billion budget increase sought by NASA for 2020.

"We're going to have to look for some efficiencies and make some cuts internal to the agency," he warned. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has said in recent months, including the same meeting of the advisory council, that NASA would not "cannibalize" other parts of the agency to pay for the return to the moon. (6/4)

Ursa and Hawkey to Combine Constellation Capabilities (Source: Space News)
Ursa Space Systems and HawkEye 360 said they will work together to provide services that combine radar imagery and radiofrequency data. Ursa currently provides data products derived from synthetic aperture radar imagery, while HawkEye 360 is deploying a constellation of small satellites to collect radiofrequency information. The companies say they can work together by using HawkEye 360's satellites to identify radio transmissions, such as from ships, which can then be used by Ursa to obtain SAR imagery to determine the source. (6/5)

China Launches Microsatellites at Sea (Source: Xinhua)
China successfully launched a small rocket from a ship in the Yellow Sea Wednesday. A Long March 11 rocket launched from the ship at 12:06 a.m. Eastern and placed a total of seven small satellites into orbit. The launch was intended to demonstrate the ability of the solid-propellant rocket to launch at sea, allowing it to place satellites into lower inclination orbits than possible from sites within China. (6/5)

New NRO and US Space Command Chiefs Vow to Collaborate (Source: Space News)
The nominees selected to lead the National Reconnaissance Office and the new U.S. Space Command told senators they would ensure they worked together. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee largely praised Chris Scolese, nominated to run NRO, and Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, selected to lead Space Command, in a confirmation hearing Tuesday. One issue senators raised was cooperation between the organizations, since NRO will remain independent of Space Command and the proposed Space Force. Scolese said that he supported keeping NRO independent, but would work with Raymond and others to ensure their activities were coordinated. (6/5)

"Space Coast" Expands to Volusia County with Lunar Lander Program (Source: Daytona Beach News Journal)
Volusia County’s efforts to land a piece of the growing private space industry just received a big shot in the arm. Orbit Beyond Inc., a New Jersey start-up that recently won a $97.7 million contract from NASA to design and build lunar landers capable of delivering commercial payloads, plans to set up manufacturing operations in Port Orange. Siba Padhi said in a phone interview his company will initially employ 20 workers here, but could grow its local workforce to as many as 50.

Padhi said he is in the process of finalizing a lease for a “substantial space” in the 112,000-square-foot Raydon Corp. plant. Orbit Beyond’s website already lists the Raydon property as its address. “We should be operational soon,” Padhi said. “We hope to have people there within this month.”

Orbit Beyond is the first of what could be many more aerospace companies locating in Volusia County, said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida. “I see this as the beginning and extension of the growth of the space community in Volusia (County),” DiBello said. “You have a lot to bring to the table in terms of supply of talent from Embry-Riddle, Daytona State (College) and your other universities, as well as a supply of available buildings.” (6/4)

UK Picks Cornwall and Virgin Orbit for Space Launch Capability (Source: Virgin Orbit)
For a while now, we’ve been working with our friends in Cornwall on the prospect of using LauncherOne to bring launch back to Britain. Today, that project took a massive step forward, as the U.K. Space Agency announced it aims to invest £7.8m (~$10 million) into the development of Spaceport Cornwall as a key operating hub for horizontal launch system, working towards a first launch from British soil in the early 2020’s.

This deal is a win for all parties, and most especially for fans of space living and working in the UK. The space agency and supporters throughout government are eager to broaden the UK’s established leadership in satellite manufacturing and operations by creating a domestic capability to launch satellites into Earth orbit — something that has never happened from the British Isles.  By bringing our launch service from California to Cornwall, we’re in unique position to stimulate the space economy, strengthen the US-UK partnership, and inspire a whole new generation of boffins and space lovers. (6/5)