August 8, 2029

Earth's Last Magnetic-Pole Flip Took Much Longer Than We Thought (Source: Space.com)
The last reversal of Earth's magnetic poles happened long before humans could record it, but research on the flow of ancient lava has helped scientists estimate the duration of this strange phenomenon. A team of researchers used volcanic records to study Earth's last magnetic-field reversal, which occurred about 780,000 years ago. They found that this flip may have taken much longer than researchers previously thought, the scientists reported in a new study.

Earth's magnetic field has flipped dozens of times in the past 2.5 million years, with north becoming south and vice versa. Scientists know the last reversal took place during the Stone Age, but they have little information about the duration of this phenomenon and when the next "flip" might occur. In the new study, the researchers relied on flow sequences of lava that erupted close to or during the last reversal, to measure its duration. Using this method, they estimated that the reversal lasted 22,000 years — much longer than the previous estimates of 1,000 to 10,000 years.  (8/7)

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Stumbles Upon a Strangely Complicated Martian Rock (Source: Gizmodo)
The Curiosity team is calling it “Strathdon”—a boulder-sized Martian rock comprised of dozens of sedimentary layers. Its discovery suggests the area being explored by the NASA rover is more geologically complex than is typically appreciated. For the past several months, Curiosity has been exploring a region called the “clay-bearing unit” within Gale Crater. This area, located along the slope of Mount Sharp, once featured lakes and streams, the remnants of which now appear in the form of clay mineral deposits.

By exploring this region, scientists are hoping to catch a glimpse of Mars’ ancient past, when the Red Planet was able to maintain liquid water on the surface—and possibly even life. he NASA rover came across a large rock comprised of dozens of sedimentary layers. Dubbed “Strathdon” by the Curiosity team, the brittle rock looks like a gigantic chunk of baklava, with its tiered, wavy rows. These features, according to NASA, point to the presence of a dynamic environment, in which wind or flowing water—or possibly both—imbued this Martian region with its distinctive geological features. (8/7)

US, Japan To Ink Hosted Payload Pact to Monitor Sats (Source: Breaking Defense)
The United States and Japan plan to sign a significant new agreement to place American space monitoring payloads on Japanese satellites for the first time, according to US defense officials. The US space situational awareness (SSA) sensors will hitch a ride on Japan’s regional equivalent of GPS. Both the US and Japan in recent years have become increasingly concerned about on-orbit testing by China and Russia of maneuverable satellites that, while also having peaceful uses such as satellite servicing, eventually could be designed to attack allied satellites.  

Working within the Pentagon’s larger space policy, the Air Force is “pursuing an opportunity for Japan to host a Space Situational Awareness (SSA) sensor payload on their QZSS space vehicles,” Maj. Will Russell, Air Force spokesman, confirmed. The Quazi-Zenith Satellite System comprises four satellites providing positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) signals to users in Asia. One satellite is in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and three are in highly elliptical orbits. (8/7)

ULA Launches Military Satellite From Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space News)
An Atlas 5 lifted off early this morning carrying a military communications satellite. The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 551 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:13 a.m. Eastern, about a half-hour into a two-hour launch window after resolving some minor technical issues. The rocket's payload, the AEHF-5 spacecraft, will be released from the Centaur upper stage five hours and 40 minutes after liftoff, following a final burn by the Centaur. The 6,500-kilogram AEHF-5 completes a geostationary ring of five satellites providing global coverage for the United States and international partners Canada, the Netherlands and the UKm. (8/8)

ULA Wins Air Force Contract for Delta 4 Launch (Space News)
ULA received a contract Wednesday for what may be the final Delta 4 Heavy launch. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded ULA a $156.7 million contract modification for a Delta 4 Heavy launch of the National Reconnaissance Office mission NROL-70 in 2024, the third and final mission awarded to ULA under an existing Launch Vehicle Production Services contract worth a total of $467.5 million.The Air Force is buying the three Delta 4 Heavy missions to ensure the NRO can get its very large satellites on orbit between now and 2024 before the Air Force transitions to new vehicles under the National Security Space Launch program starting in 2022. (8/8)

Key Senator Optimistic for Space Force Plan (Source: Space News)
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee is optimistic the Space Force will be established this year. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said Wednesday there are no major obstacles to passing a defense authorization act this year that authorizes the Defense Department to stand up a space force. Reed said the Senate will insist on a one-year transition period where the commander of U.S. Space Command, Gen. John Raymond, also would be the commander of the Space Force, despite objections to that plan by the Pentagon. (8/8)

Army Withdraws From Air Force-Led Missile Warning Satellite Project (Source: Space News)
The Air Force is seeking a new partner for an experimental missile warning satellite after the Army withdrew from the project. The satellite, known as the Wide Field Of View (WFOV) testbed, will be used to research technologies in support of the next-generation Overhead Persistent Infrared constellation that is now in development. The Army Research Laboratory partnered with the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) on the project, using an Army contracting vehicle, but the Army decided not to renew the agreement after five years. Work on the WFOV mission will continue with a launch scheduled for 2020. (8/8)

Roccor Offers Solar Sails for Small Satellites (Source: Space News)
A Colorado company is touting a solar sail that can be used for small satellites. Roccor holds an exclusive license for the Flexible Unfurlable and Refurlable Lightweight (FURL) solar sail developed and tested by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The company says that FURL can be used on smallsats to control attitude, change planes or remain in their proper orbits, and the company hopes the recent success of the LightSail-2 mission will create interest in its product. (8/8)

A SmallSat Solution to Hypersonic Weapons (Source: C4ISRnet)
Hypersonic weapons break all the rules of the missile defense game. With speeds surpassing Mach 5 and the ability to maneuver mid-flight, hypersonic weapons defy the missile defense status quo, potentially making the United States’ current defenses obsolete. China and Russia are vigorously pursuing hypersonic weapons, and the United States is desperate to neutralize them.

The Space Development Agency and the Missile Defense Agency have a plan: a proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation comprised of hundreds of satellites capable of detecting and tracking hypersonics. And Congress appears to be supportive of the concept. Both the House and Senate opted to include $108 million for a hypersonic weapons tracking layer in space in the national defense policy bill, which was on the MDA’s list of unfunded priorities. (8/7)

Recruitment Efforts Key in Bringing Lockheed Martin FBM Headquarters to Florida’s Space Coast (Source: Space Coast Business)
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) played an active role in bringing Lockheed Martin’s Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) headquarters to Titusville, Florida. This milestone comes nearly fifteen years after EDC efforts played an essential role in retaining the
Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) in Cape Canaveral.

The FBM program relies on NOTU and its submarine-launched Trident missiles. In 2005, a federal base-closure commission reversed a Department of Defense recommendation to relocate NOTU to Kings Bay, Georgia retaining nearly 1,000 jobs
locally. The presence of NOTU was one of the key factors in the decision to relocate the FBM Headquarters, announced by Lockheed Martin in February 2017. (7/30)

Japan to Create Military Space Unit (Source: Sputnik)
The Japanese government intends to create a military space unit of the country's Self-Defence Forces in 2020 in connection with the increased use of space for defense purposes by other countries, including the United States, Russia and China. It is expected that a new 70-strong unit will be stationed at an airbase in the city of Fuchu west of Tokyo. The Japanese government is currently working on a ground-based space tracking system comprising a highly sensitive radar and an optical telescope. The main task of the unit will be to monitor space debris, threats of attacks or interference by other countries' satellites. (8/7)

How NASA Will Protect Astronauts From Space Radiation at the Moon (Source: Space Daily)
During a future Artemis mission, if a solar radiation squall were to occur while astronauts are beyond Earth's magnetic bubble, they might tell the crew to build a temporary shelter. "Our strategy in space is to make use of whatever mass is available," Johnson scientist Kerry Lee said. "We're redistributing mass to fill in areas that are thinly shielded and getting crew members closer to the heavily shielded areas."

The more mass between the crew and radiation, the more likely that dangerous particles will deposit their energy before reaching the crew. On the Moon, astronauts could pile lunar soil, or regolith, over their shelters, taking advantage of their environment's natural shielding materials. But where spacecraft design is concerned, relying on sheer bulk for protection soon grows expensive, since more mass requires more fuel to launch. The Johnson team works on developing shielding methods without adding more material. "It's unlikely that we're going to be able to fly dedicated radiation-shielding mass," Lee said. "Every item you fly will have to be multi-purpose."

For the Orion spacecraft, they've designed a plan for astronauts to build a temporary shelter with existing materials on hand, including storage units already on board or food and water supplies. If the Sun erupted with another storm as strong as the Apollo era's, the Orion crew would be safe and sound. Other teams across NASA are meeting the radiation challenge with creative solutions, developing technology such as wearable vests and devices that add mass, and electrically charged surfaces that deflect radiation. (8/8)

Russia Lauches Military Satellite on Proton Rocket from Kazakhstan (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com)
Russia launched a military communications satellite Monday evening. A Proton-M rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:56 p.m. Eastern carrying the Blagovest-14L satellite. The Proton's upper stage released the satellite nine hours later. The satellite is the fourth in a series of geostationary orbit spacecraft providing communications for the Russian military. (8/7)

Momentus and NanoRacks to Deploy Small Satellites From ISS Airlock (Source: Space News)
Momentus has partnered with NanoRacks to use a commercial ISS airlock for satellite deployment services. Once NanoRack's Bishop airlock is in place, Momentus will send its Vigoride customers into orbit through the commercial airlock. Momentus plans to conduct a test launch in 2020 of Vigoride, a shuttle to ferry payloads from one location in low Earth orbit to another, by sending a satellite into orbit through NanoRacks' Kaber Microsat Deployer on the station. (8/7)

NASA Funds Blue Canyon to Operate Two Cubesats Currently in Orbit (Source: Space News)
NASA has awarded small satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies contract extensions for the operation of two cubesats. Under the contract extensions, BCT will continue to operate the TEMPEST-D Earth science satellite for four months and the HaloSat astronomy satellite for five months. The two satellites, built by Blue Canyon Technologies, launched from the ISS last July. (8/7)

NanoAvionics Plans Satellite Manufacture at Midland Texas Spaceport (Source: Space News)
NanoAvionics has lined up customers for the first nanosatellites it plans to build in Texas. NanoAvionics, a spinoff of Lithuania's Vilnius University, is preparing to move a significant portion of its research, development and manufacturing activities to a facility in Midland, Texas. The factory is designed to serve the U.S. market, building radiation-tolerant 6U and 12U cubesats. The company hasn't identified those first customers for its U.S.-built satellites. (8/7)

Solar Sailing, at Long Last (Source: Space Review)
The Planetary Society announced last week that its LightSail 2 mission successfully changed its orbit using a solar sail. Jeff Foust reports on the accomplishment and the long path that led up to it. Click here. (8/7)
 
China’s Grand Strategy in Outer Space: to Establish Compelling Standards of Behavior (Source: Space Review)
China’s growing space activities have generated debate about what the country’s real goals are with those efforts. Namrata Goswami describes how those efforts are part of a grand strategy to make China the leader in setting standards of behavior in space. Click here. (8/7)
 
The International Lunar Decade: A Strategy for Sustainable Development (Source: Space Review)
While there is growing interest in making use of lunar resources, the viability of those efforts is uncertain because of the lack of information about those resources. Vidvuds Beldavs describes how a coordinated effort modeled on the International Geophysical Year can help strengthen the case for using those resources in space or on Earth. Click here. (8/7)
 
The Role of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Supporting Space Property Rights (Source: Space Review)
Legal experts have debated if the Outer Space Treaty restricts the ability of private entities to claim property rights on celestial bodies. Wes Faires argues that it can, when considered through the perspective of another UN document. Click here. (8/7)

Sanders Pledges to Let Americans in on Aliens, UFOs if Elected President (Source: The Hill)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pledged in an interview released Tuesday that he will tell the American public anything he learns about aliens or UFOs if elected president next year. Sanders was pressed about whether he would be open with the public about extraterrestrial knowledge if he takes the White House. “Well I tell you, my wife would demand that I let you know,” Sanders laughingly replied. (8/7)

NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly Owns Guns, Says US Needs 'Stronger' Laws (Source: Business Insider)
NASA astronaut Mark Kelly was almost a widower. Kelly's wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, was shot point blank in the head eight years ago, as she met with constituents outside a Safeway grocery store during a "Congress on your corner" meet-up. Miraculously, Giffords survived, but six other people who were at the event died that day, including a nine-year-old.

Kelly is running for the Senate in 2020; the former astronaut, test pilot, and engineer is hoping to fill former Senator John McCain's seat. The non-profit Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (which Kelly and Giffords helped found) tracks which states have the most gun deaths and has found a clear connection between lax firearm regulation and more fatalities. "We need some stronger gun laws, but laws that are common sense, that most Americans agree with," Kelly said. "I'm a supporter of the Second Amendment. I probably own more firearms than your average Arizonan. But we could do things to keep people safer." (8/6)

The Cosmic Secrets Inside This Tiny Meteorite (Source: Verge Science)
Earlier this year, Verge Science went hunting for space dust on a rooftop in Brooklyn. The hunt turned up some promising samples, but looking at them under a microscope led to inconclusive results — even from the world’s foremost micrometeorite hunter. To get to the bottom of things, we took a trip to NASA's Johnson Space Center to learn how to verify suspected space samples and to learn about what these tiny specks could teach us about the secrets of the universe. Click here. (8/6)

Two Planets Orbiting a Nearby star Could have Oceans and Maybe Life (Source: New Scientist)
A pair of planets orbiting a nearby star called Teegarden’s star may be just right for liquid water, and perhaps even life. The planets, discovered in June 2019, could support water on their surfaces if they have very thin atmospheres or relatively thick ones. Teegarden’s star – named after Bonnard Teegarden, the leader of the team that discovered it – is about 12.5 light years away, and it has two planets called Teegarden’s star b and c. (8/4)

Astronomers Just Found an Absolutely Gargantuan Black Hole The Mass of 40 Billion Suns (Source: Science Alert)
Black holes can get pretty big, but there's a special class that is the biggest of the big, absolute yawning monster black holes. And astronomers seem to have found an absolute specimen, clocking in at 40 billion times the mass of the Sun. It's at the centre of a galaxy called Holmberg 15A, a supergiant elliptical galaxy around 700 million light-years away, which in turn sits at the centre of the Abell 85 galaxy cluster. The object is one of the biggest black holes ever found, and the biggest found by tracking the movement of the stars around it. (8/6)

Dickman: Spaceport Camden Launch Would be Safe and Quick (Source: Jacksonville Times-Union)
The small launch vehicles that are the sweet spot for Spaceport Camden are very different from the large rockets that launch from Cape Canaveral today. The rocket would be over Cumberland Island for less than 10 seconds. It would be more than 13 miles above us — twice the distance of an airliner. And as far as noise is concerned, the rocket would be the equivalent sound-wise of standing in the middle of a noisy classroom.

It is true: no rocket launch is without risk. But during any commercial launch from the U.S., NASA, the FAA and the Air Force are all responsible for ensuring the safety of the public. The safety approach that the FAA will use for Spaceport Camden is the same one that has resulted in zero injuries or damage to the public during the entire history of the U.S. space program.

Many companies launching small rockets neither need nor want the infrastructure and bureaucracy associated with launching from a federal range. They will bring their rockets and payloads — as well as fuel and control systems — onto the spaceport for each launch; they will then remove it all once the launch is over to make room for the next one. That’s the sweet spot need that Spaceport Camden can satisfy, and it’s why Spaceport Camden makes sense for Camden County and the Greater Jacksonville area. (7/27)

A Response to General Dickman Re: Georgia's Spaceport (Source: Spaceport Facts)
We have a few questions for General Dickman about his Letters supporting Spaceport Camden to the Editors of the Florida Times-Union ("Spaceport Camden launch would be safe and quick"). General Dickman omitted that he’s a member of the Spaceport Camden Steering Committee. So though he is certainly an expert, are his opinions unbiased? Nowhere does the General explain why Camden taxpayers should take on so many unknown costs and risks for his so-called "sweet spot" spaceport.

Of all people, General Dickman should know that the Cape’s perfect launch safety record is because his Range Safety Officer was instructed to stop launches when a single boat entered the previously evacuated downrange hazard zones at his spaceport. The US Coast Guard enforced offshore evacuations at Dickman’s Canaveral and will likewise enforce restricted waters at Spaceport Camden. A question for the General: If no one is allowed on a boat in a hazard zone during a launch, how can Camden allow campers, national park staff, private homeowners and their guests to remain directly under the trajectory closer to the launch site than a boat can get?

 They sold us on the idea that high-value launches like those at Kennedy would be spectacular and create tourism. That will be unlikely for General Dickman’s tiny rockets. We also suspect he knows that new, small commercial rockets from new launch companies have much poorer safety records than those he referenced. In fact, the total record for FAA-licensed small liquid-fueled rockets since 2006 is 9 failures out of 17 launches which includes three failures for the SpaceX Falcon 1 (out of 5 launches); two failures of the Astra (2 launches);  three failures of the Exos SARGE (3 launches); and one failure of the RocketLab Electron (7 launches). (8/7)

How Venus Turned Into Hell, and How the Earth Is Next (Source: Space.com)
It's hard to not exaggerate just how bad Venus is. Seriously, imagine in your head what the worst possible planet might be, and Venus is worse than that. Let's start with the atmosphere. If you think that the smog in LA is bad, you should take a whiff of Venus. It's almost entirely carbon dioxide and chokingly thick with an atmospheric pressure at the surface 90 times that of Earth. That's the equivalent pressure of a mile beneath our ocean waves. It's so thick that you almost have to swim through it just to move around. Only 4% of that atmosphere is nitrogen, but that's more nitrogen total than there is in the Earth's atmosphere.

And sitting on top of this are clouds made of sulfuric acid. Yikes. Sulfuric acid clouds are highly reflective, giving Venus its characteristic brilliant shine. The clouds are so reflective, and the rest of the atmosphere so thick, that less than 3% of the sun's light that reaches Venus actually makes it down to the surface. That means that you will only vaguely be aware of the difference between day and night.

Because Venus is made of pretty much the same stuff as our Earth, and has roughly the same size and mass, scientists are pretty sure that, back in the early days of the solar system, Venus was kind of nice. It probably supported liquid water oceans on the surface and white fluffy clouds dotting a blue sky. Actually, quite lovely. But four and a half billion years ago, our sun was different. It was smaller and dimmer. As stars like our sun age, they steadily grow brighter. Click here. (8/7)

SpaceX's Starship Gets a Reveal Date (Source: Inverse)
The Starship, SpaceX’s stainless steel rocket designed to take humans to Mars, has a reveal date: August 24 at the Boca Chica test facility in Texas. The presentation is expected to be a detailed review of the first orbital Starship, as Musk details each design decision ahead of further development. The first version is expected to feature three Raptor engines, a far cry from the 41 engines expected on the final version. Click here. (8/6)

SpaceX Sends Falcon 9’s West Coast Drone Ship to the Panama Canal (Source: Teslarati)
In a surprise turn of events, SpaceX has decided to send Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) – one of the company’s two autonomous spaceport drone ships (ASDS) – from Port of Los Angeles to either the Gulf or East Coast. The likely destination: either Port Canaveral, Florida or Port of Brownsville, Texas. This move comes as the company enters a major lull in launch activities from its West Coast SLC-4 pad, situated in California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB). Lacking manifested launches, SpaceX has gone as far as redistributing almost all of its VAFB-based launch team and laying off those that could not move to Texas or Florida. (8/6)

Update on ULA's Vulcan Rocket Production in Alabama (Source: WAFF)
At their 1.6 million square foot Decatur facility, there more than 800 workers. Some are coordinating and mapping out where tooling pieces will go to produce the top section of the Vulcan rocket. The machinery is getting lined up to start the manufacturing process for the Upper Stage. “This is the first of nine major work cells to build the upper stage tanks for the Vulcan program. We’re installing an automated system that allows us to build the vehicle. The early stages of the tank will go in here to set specific configuration of some of the hardware and then process down through the other major work cells,” explained Zeke Terry.

While there’s a lot of activity putting the production line together, there’s even more activity on the rocket itself right next door. ULA leaders say they have to get the entire rocket right. They are using a new powerful Blue Origin BE-4 engine on the core stage so there is a lot riding on the rocket. Zeke says ULA is on schedule with Vulcan and will be ready to fly payloads in less than two years. (8/5)

Here’s What We Need to Build Our First Moon Base (Source: The Conversation)
Half a century after humans first walked on the moon, a number of private companies and nations are planning to build permanent bases on the lunar surface. Despite the technological progress since the Apollo era, this will be extremely challenging. So how should you get started? The conditions at the lunar surface are extreme. The moon has a 28-day rotation period, resulting in two weeks of continuous sunlight followed by two weeks of darkness at most latitudes. As the moon lacks any significant atmosphere to distribute heat from the sun, temperatures during the day can rise to 130°C. Meanwhile, the coldest nighttime temperatures have been recorded as -247°C. Click here. (8/6) 

Which Companies Are Winning the Commercial Space Race? (Source: Motley Fool)
In stark contrast to the space race of the 20th century, which saw governments compete with each other, the modern space race is primarily taking place in the private sector. This is partly due to waning interest from governments in space missions, but it is also due to potential commercial opportunities to launch satellites and create new modes of human transportation.

The three companies that get the most attention are SpaceX (backed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk), Blue Origin (backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos), and Virgin Galactic (backed by entrepreneur Richard Branson). With the upcoming IPO of Virgin Galactic via a reverse merger with Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings (NYSE:IPOA), it's as good a time as any to learn about the leaders in the commercial space sector. Click here. (8/5)

Spire and Kleos Plan Maritime Safety Venture (Source: Spire)
Spire and signal-mapping company Kleos Space have teamed up to develop maritime safety tools focused on detecting “dark vessels” from space. New products expected in the fourth quarter of this year will combine Spire’s ship-tracking data with radio-frequency reconnaissance data from Kleos Space. Spire said it will provide its own proprietary Automatic Identification System (AIS) data to Kleos providers when ship AIS signals are undetected. (8/6)

New Details Emerge About Saturn's Rings, Which are Disappearing at an Alarming Rate (Source: CBS News)
In December, new NASA research confirmed Saturn's rings were being pulled into the planet by gravity. Saturn's magnetic field was pulling in a dusty rain of ice particles from the rings, also known as "ring rain." "We estimate that this 'ring rain' drains an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool from Saturn's rings in half an hour," NASA's James O'Donoghue, said in a 2018 report.

"From this alone, the entire ring system will be gone in 300 million years," O'Donoghue said. However, the Cassini spacecraft also detected even more ring matter was falling into Saturn's equator. That means the rings likely have less than 100 million years to live. This is a short amount of time compared to the fact that Saturn is over 4 billion years old — much older than its rings. The planet's rings formed between 10 million and 100 million years ago. (8/6)

FCC’s Streamlined Licensing Rules Seen as Boon for Smallsat Industry (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s streamlined licensing rules for small satellites sailed through a vote Aug. 1, establishing a path for companies to secure spectrum rights much faster and cheaper than current regulations allow. Under the optional licensing regime, which stands to take effect this year, smallsat operators with spacecraft that meet certain criteria will be able to obtain a spectrum license about twice as fast and pay only $30,000 instead of nearly $500,000. A maximum of 10 satellites at a time can be licensed under the streamline process.

For the past few years, smallsat companies in remote sensing, asset tracking and telecommunications have been making rounds among federal regulators in Washington expressing a “measure of frustration” about how difficult regulations make it to deploy a low-cost system in space, said Dara Panahy, head of Milbank’s transportation and space group. (8/7)