July 9, 2019

Robots, Not Humans, Are The New Space Explorers (Source: NPR)
When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon 50 years ago, it was an inspiring moment for people around the world. But another kind of explorer is responsible for much of the modern enthusiasm for space exploration. "Since the days of Apollo, the greatest adventures in space have been these robots that have gone all over the solar system," says Emily Lakdawalla, a self-described planetary evangelist at the Planetary Society.

By "these robots," Lakdawalla means the various robotic probes that have flown past planets, moons and asteroids — orbiting some, landing on others. Astronauts do still explore space. The International Space Station is a remarkable piece of hardware. Humans have been living on it for nearly two decades. But as amazing as the space station is, excitement about it is relatively muted. Lakdawalla says it would be inspiring to see an astronaut land on Mars, but in the meantime, inspiration is coming from NASA's Mars rovers. (7/8)

SLS Artemis-1 Core Stage Nearing Completion (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
The core stage (CS-1) for the first flight (Artemis 1 (formerly Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1)) of NASA’s next super-heavy lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), is nearing completion at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The CS-1 “forward join” — the mated forward skirt, liquid oxygen (LOX) tank, and interstage — was completed in February. Thereafter, the join was removed from its vertical stacking cell, rotated to the horizontal, and transported to another area of the facility for mating with the lower portion of the stage. (7/7)

NASA Chief: We Have to Think Differently (Source: Aviation Week)
 The problem was that Apollo was sold as a Moon program. And once that destination was reached, people said, “OK, we’ve done that.” Today, the destination is Mars. Why are we so keen on Mars? It has liquid water and methane cycles that are commensurate with the seasons. And, unlike the Moon, Mars has complex organic compounds. The probability of finding life has gone up significantly in just the last year. Spirit and Opportunity showed us that Mars had an ocean in its northern hemisphere, a thick atmosphere and a magnetosphere that protected it from the radiation of deep space.

In other words, Mars was at one time habitable. So the goal is to use the Moon as a proving ground to learn how to live and work together on another world using [its] resources, so we can eventually go to Mars for long durations. Click here. (7/9)

Jacksonville Spaceport Gains Command Center with $9 Million Air Traffic Control Tower (Source: Jacksonville Business Journal)
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority received a permit Tuesday for its long-planned air traffic control tower and spaceport command center at Cecil Airport. The permit gives the project an $8.1 million price tag and lists it as an 11-story, 118-ft. building. JAA previously estimated the building would stand 135-ft. tall and cost $3.3 million.

The project's price grew from $3.3 million, as it was budgeted in 2012, to $8.9 million because the scope of the project increased. The project did not include the spaceport command center at $3.3 million, for example. JAA will pay about $4.5 million for the project, with the Florida Department of Transportation and Space Florida paying the remainder.

The new tower is replacing its former 55-ft. tower, which was decades old and lacked clear views of Cecil's newest taxiway and the entirety of its 600 acres. It will also house a spaceport operations center that will give commercial horizontal launchers the ability to track and remotely collect data from their spacecraft. Cecil Spaceport is one of only six licensed facilities for such launches in the U.S., though it has yet to conduct a launch. (7/3)

Astroscale Advances Environmentally Sustainable Use of Space through ESA / OneWeb Sunrise Project (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale, a space debris removal venture, has been awarded a contract under the Sunrise Project, a Public-Private Partnership led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and OneWeb, a global communications company on a mission to connect the unconnected through a global satellite constellation. The Sunrise Project, which is a part of the ESA ARTES programme, was created to develop technologies for future generation telecommunication satellite missions and to advance Active Debris Removal (ADR) capabilities in low Earth orbit.

Under the contract, Astroscale, which was selected for the programme alongside other industry partners, will improve upon the heritage capabilities currently being developed for its End-of Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) mission, a privately funded demonstration of technologies necessary for orbital debris removal. Astroscale’s Sunrise Project solution will mature the technology required in support of commercial ADR services and help lay the groundwork toward the ultimate goal of a sustainable orbital environment. (7/9)

Virgin Galactic to be First Space Tourism Company to Go Public (Source: Fox Business)
Space tourism venture Virgin Galactic announced Tuesday it will be merging with Social Capital Hedosophia (SCH) to create the world’s first publicly traded commercial human spaceflight company. Virgin Galactic and the public investment firm agreed to a stock and cash deal — with SCH owning a 49 percent stake of the merged company. SCH’s founder will also invest $100 million at $10 per share, Branson's company said in a news release. The merger is expected to create a company with an enterprise value of $1.5 billion, Virgin Galactic said. (7/9)

Firefly Teams with IAI for Lunar Lander Development (Source: Firefly Aerospace)
Firefly Aerospace has signed an Intellectual Property and Engineering Support Agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for technology based on its Beresheet Lunar Lander. Firefly is one of the nine companies selected by NASA to participate in the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver science payloads to the surface of the Moon. The agreement is expected to lead to the development of a U.S.-built version of IAI's Beresheet lunar lander. "Having access to flight proven lunar lander technology and the expertise of IAI engineers makes Firefly well placed to gain a foothold in the cislunar market." (7/9)

NASA Picks SpaceX to Launch Small Astrophysics Payload (Source: Space News)
NASA awarded a launch contract to SpaceX July 8 for the launch of a small astrophysics mission as the company offered a Falcon 9 at a lower price than a much smaller rocket. NASA said that it selected SpaceX to launch the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission on a Falcon 9 in April 2021 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. NASA said the total cost to the agency for the launch is $50.3 million, which includes the launch itself and other “mission-related” costs. (7/9)

ITT Acquires Space Coast-Based Matrix Composites (Source: ITT)
ITT Inc. has acquired Matrix Composites, Inc., a specialty aerospace component manufacturer located on the Florida Space Coast with over two decades of experience specializing in the manufacture of precision composite components for next generation, high growth aircraft and aircraft engine platforms. The acquisition aligns with ITT's growth strategy focused on enhancing its product portfolio with innovative, technologically differentiated businesses. Matrix Composites will expand ITT Connect and Control Technologies' core aerospace product and technology capabilities.

Matrix Composites, Inc., which is headquartered in Rockledge, Florida, has 115 employees and an estimated 2019 revenue of approximately $22 million. The transaction, valued at $29 million, was funded from the company's cash and is expected to be accretive in the first year. The transaction value includes an earnout and is subject to customary working capital adjustments. (7/9)

PTScientists Goes Bankrupt Amid Lunar Lander Development (Source: Space News)
A German company developing a lunar lander has filed for bankruptcy protection. Berlin-based PTScientists announced July 8 that it had filed for "preliminary insolvency" under the German Insolvency Code with a local court, which appointed an insolvency manager to review the company's finances and assets. The company said that "unplanned delays" in new financing for the company triggered the filing. PTScientists, a former Google Lunar X Prize team, says it will continue work on its first lunar lander while those insolvency proceedings continue, hoping to restructure the company and identify new financing. (7/9)

Three Rules for Megaconstellations (Source: Space News)
Companies like Amazon planning satellite megaconstellations need to follow three rules, experts say. One is to develop new technology quickly, using rapid iteration to advance key systems. Another rule is make selective use of automation in the production and operation of satellites. The final rule is to accept some degree of failure in satellite systems, particularly in the early stage of their development. (7/9)

NASA Squeezing More Life Out of Voyaver Spacecraft (Source: NASA)
NASA is tweaking the operation of its Voyager spacecraft to get additional life out of them. The two spacecraft, which have crossed into interstellar space, are still operating, but their power levels are dropping as their nuclear power sources decay. To conserve power, controllers recently turned off a heater for one instrument on Voyager 2, and found that instrument continues to work even though it's now at a lower temperature than what it was tested to operate under. NASA hopes to keep the spacecraft operating well into the 2020s, so that its measurements of conditions at the boundary of interstellar space can complement a mission scheduled for launch in 2024. (7/9)

Apollo Computer Reassigned for Bitcoin Mining (Source: Vice)
A software engineer reconfigured a computer designed for the Apollo lunar lander for a modern-day mission: mining bitcoin. Ken Shirriff wrote software to use a restored Apollo Guidance Computer to perform bitcoin calculations. The computer calculated a single "hash" in 10.3 seconds; by comparison, inexpensive computers can calculate more than 100 billion hashes a second. "At 10.3 seconds per hash, it would take a billion times the age of the universe to mine a block" of bitcoin, Shirriff concluded. (7/9)

One More Orbit Takes Astronaut on Record Breaking 'Super LEO' Polar Flight From/To Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: OneMoreOrbit)
One More Orbit is multinational attempt to break the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth via both poles using a Gulfstream G650ER. The mission launched from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport's Launch & Landing Facility on July 9. Former NASA ISS Commander Col. Terry Virts is one of the pilots. Starfighters Aerospace assists the effort with an intercept and escort for the final leg back to the spaceport on July 11. Click here. (7/9)