August 1, 2019

Analysts: ’Space Defense Force’ Would Be a Better Name, Space Development Agency Will Not Survive (Source: Space News)
Defense analysts suspect that the Pentagon's new Space Development Agency will be short-lived. At a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution Wednesday, analysts questioned the role the SDA is supposed to play and how it would work with the proposed Space Force. They warned it could further fragment space acquisition, rather than merge all space acquisition under a single entity as has been proposed in the past. The panel said the Space Force itself faced challenges, such as how to deal with space activities in military branches outside the Air Force. One analyst suggested the Space Force should instead be named the "Space Defense Force" to reflect its primary job of defending military space assets. (7/31)

Hyten Confirmed by Senate (Source: Space Policy Online)
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of Gen. John Hyten to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Wednesday. The committee voted 20—7 to send the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation, a day after Hyten testified before the committee. A date for a Senate vote on the nomination hasn't been set, and the Senate is scheduled to begin its summer recess at the end of this week, not returning until after Labor Day. (7/31)

Big Hopes for NASA's ISS Commercialization Strategy (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says that the agency's ISS commercialization strategy will lead to an "industrialization" of low Earth orbit. Bridenstine, speaking at the ISS Research and Development Conference Wednesday, said he wants space to become "a major driver for the United States of America economically when it comes to the balance of payments and exports." NASA's commercialization strategy, announced in June, is intended to enable that through elements like ISS commercial-use policies and support for commercial modules and free-flying facilities. Industry experts at the conference cautioned that it may take considerable time before new commercial LEO markets emerge. (7/31)

Solar Sail Demo a Success (Source: Space News)
The Planetary Society announced Wednesday its LightSail 2 solar sail demonstration mission is a success. The organization said the spacecraft raised the apogee of its orbit by nearly two kilometers in four days after it deployed its 32-square-meter solar sail last week. That increase demonstrated that the spacecraft was raising its orbit through solar pressure on the sail. The spacecraft should continue raising its apogee, while lowering the perigee, of its orbit for about a month before atmospheric drag at the lower parts of its orbit overwhelm the sail. The society, which raised $7 million for the LightSail program, says it's not planning a follow-on mission but instead will share the technology with others, including NASA. (7/31)

Launch Insurance Rates May Rise After Vega Failure (Source: Reuters)
The Vega launch failure is likely to drive up space insurance rates. The failed Vega launch in July of Falcon Eye-1 satellite for the UAE will result in a loss of more than $410 million for insurers. That failure, coupled with a $183 million claim for the failed WorldView-4 satellite at the end of last year, may "significantly" increase launch and in-orbit insurance rates, which had been at historic lows, insurers say. A Swiss Re board member said Wednesday the firm would be reducing its exposure to the space industry as part of efforts to turn around its corporate insurance division. (8/1)

China Developing Seaport Complex for Sea-Based Launches (Source: China Daily)
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. is planning to develop a seaport complex to support sea-based launches. The company said it will work with the eastern coastal province of Shandong to start construction of the complex by the end of this year, which will include a port as well as facilities for the production of launch vehicles and spacecraft. The announcement comes after the first Chinese sea-based launch, of a Long March 11 rocket, in June. (7/31)

Bezos Readies for More Blue Origin Investment? (Source: Forbes)
Blue Origin could be in line for a new infusion of capital from its founder. Amazon filed notices with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday that Jeff Bezos sold $1.8 billion of shares in the company in the last three days of July, which will net him $1.4 billion after taxes. Neither Amazon nor Bezos disclosed why he sold the shares, which account for a tiny fraction of his overall stake in the e-commerce giant, but Bezos has previously said he sells Amazon stock to provide Blue Origin with $1 billion a year of capital. (8/1)

TESS Data Reveal Nearby Super-Earth (Source: NBC)
Astronomers have discovered a nearby "super-Earth" exoplanet that is potentially habitable. The exoplanet, GJ 357 d, is 31 light-years from Earth and was discovered by astronomers using data from NASA's TESS spacecraft. The planet is about six times the mass of the Earth and orbits its star at a distance where liquid water could exist on its surface, although scientists note they have no evidence yet that the planet has water or is habitable. (7/31)

Hawaii Governor Withdraws Emergency Order for Telescope Protesters (Source: NBC)
Hawaii's governor on Tuesday rescinded an emergency proclamation put in place to deal with native Hawaiian protesters who are blocking a road to prevent the construction of a giant telescope at a mountain summit they consider sacred. Gov. David Ige said there were no immediate plans to move heavy equipment to Mauna Kea's summit. He also noted two hurricanes were approaching that could affect the protest area and the rest of the state.

Hurricane Erick, approaching from the east, is forecast to pass south of the Big Island later this week. Following right after is Hurricane Flossie, which appears on track to come close to the islands early next week. The governor declared an emergency on July 17 to give law enforcement more authority to close areas of the mountain and to use additional National Guard troops to help deliver construction gear. The protest to stop the Thirty Meter Telescope is in its 16th day. (7/31)

NanoRacks Releases LEO Commercialization Study (Source: NanoRacks)
The LEO Commercialization Study came out of the Administration and NASA’s efforts to understand the role of the private sector in creating a sustainable LEO marketplace, allowing NASA to focus its energies going forward to the Moon and onwards to Mars. NanoRacks was one of 12 companies selected to participate in this study. Click here. (7/25)

NASA to Work with SpaceX on Orbital Refueling Technology (Source: Ars Technica)
One of SpaceX's principal engineers behind the Starship project, Paul Wooster, has identified orbital refueling as one of most difficult technology challenges the company will have to overcome in order to realize its Mars ambitions. Under some scenarios by which the company aims to send humans to Mars, a Super Heavy rocket would launch a Mars-bound Starship to low-Earth orbit. At that point, the spacecraft would need to top its fuel tanks back up in order to get its payload all the way to the Red Planet.

It's estimated that five Starship launches' worth of fuel (as payload) would be required to refuel a single Mars-bound Starship in low-Earth orbit, and this would involve the transfer of hundreds of tons of methane and liquid oxygen. (7/31)

Suborbital Launch Fails for Australia's Gilmour Space (Source: Gilmour Space)
Australian small launch startup Gilmour Space says its One Vision suborbital rocket failed seven seconds after liftoff Monday because of a third-party component. Gilmour Space traced the cause to a malfunctioning pressure regulator inside the rocket’s oxidizer tank. While the launch was unsuccessful, the test mission did provide a chance to use the company’s mobile launch platform and mission control center. Gilmour Space says the mobile platform enables it to launch from anywhere in Australia. The company plans to launch an enhanced suborbital rocket “in the near future” to test more technologies for future orbital launches. (7/31)

The Evolution of the Spacesuit (Source: Aviation Week)
From the original spacesuits in 1920s to the advancements of technology in 2019 looking at Mars, we examine the evolution of the spacesuits and what is to come in the future. Click here. (7/26)

The World’s Largest Telescope is One Step Closer to Completion (Source: Engadget)
The world's largest telescope is one step closer to completion. This month, the team working on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) completed the second of seven primary mirror segments, a process that began in January 2012. The GMT is an international effort to create a telescope that delivers images 10 times clearer than those produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. When it's up and running, the GMT will help scientists tackle some of the biggest questions, like are we alone in the universe? It will allow astronomers to collect more light than any telescope ever built and at the highest resolutions yet.

But achieving this is no simple task. The team broke ground in 2015, and the telescope isn't expected to be complete until 2027. That's partly because of the complexity of the mirrors. Each primary segment is curved to a precise shape and polished to within a wavelength of light -- about one-millionth of an inch. And thanks to an intricate honeycomb mold, the finished glass is mostly hollow, making it lightweight and easier to cool. (7/31)

Florida Girl Scouts Meet NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott at Camp CEO STEM Retreat (Source: NewsChief)
Nicole Stott has confronted some of her deepest fears and has seen the most beautiful of sights, both in her career as an astronaut. “It’s really beautiful,” she told a group of Girl Scouts Saturday, “when you look out the window of your spaceship.” But to get there, she had to step out of her comfort zone during training: “You do learn more and more about where your strengths and weaknesses are.” Stott was the keynote speaker for “Camp CEO STEM,” a weekend leadership retreat held at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland. (7/29)

Greenland Is Melting Away Before Our Eyes (Source: Rolling Stone)
Amid an ongoing heat wave, new data show the Greenland ice sheet is in the middle of its biggest melt season in recorded history. It’s the latest worrying signal climate change is accelerating far beyond the worst fears of even climate scientists. The record-setting heat wave that sweltered northern Europe last week has moved north over the critically vulnerable Greenland ice sheet, triggering temperatures this week that are as much as 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal.

Weather models indicate Tuesday’s temperature may have surpassed 75 degrees Fahrenheit in some regions of Greenland, and a weather balloon launched near the capital Nuuk measured all-time record warmth just above the surface. That heat wave is still intensifying, and is expected to peak on Thursday with the biggest single-day melt ever recorded in Greenland. On August 1 alone, more than 12 billion tons of water will permanently melt away from the ice sheet and find its way down to the ocean, irreversibly raising sea levels globally. (7/31)