September 29, 2019

Former NASA Contractor Found Guilty of SLS-Related Fraud at Kennedy Space Center (Source: Florida Today)
A former NASA contractor was found guilty of fraud and other charges after he falsified the origin of hardware needed for the agency's Space Launch System rocket at Kennedy Space Center, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida. According to the investigation spearheaded by the NASA Office of Inspector General and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 34-year-old Jonathan Hipps of Warner Robins, Georgia, was an employee of STAT Industry in 2014, a company that helped provide steel rods for the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.

The contract required that the steel rods originate from the U.S., but investigators said Hipps obtained rods from India during the procurement process. He used a box cutter to remove labels indicating their origin, then shipped the rods to KSC with a certificate indicating they met all NASA requirements. Hipps was found guilty on Aug. 29 of mail fraud, concealment of material facts from a federal agency, and providing false documents to a federal agency. He faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison during his sentencing hearing on Dec. 4. He was indicted in January. (9/28)

Musk Says Starship Should Reach Orbit Within Six Months – and Could Even Fly With a Crew Next Year (Source: Tech Crunch)
SpaceX’s nest generation spacecraft is being designed for full, “rapid reusability.” Elon Musk discussed the technology behind the design of Starship,  which has evolved somewhat through testing and development after its original introduction in 2017. Starship will be used to make humans interplanetary, using in-space refilling of propellant by docking with tanker Starships already in orbit to transfer fuel. This is necessary for the spacecraft to get enough propellant on board post-launch to make the trip to the Moon or Mars from Earth.

These will include supplies for building bases on planetary surfaces, as well as up to 100 passengers on long-haul planet-to-planet flights. Those are still very long-term goals, however, and Musk also went into detail about development of the current generation of Starship prototypes, as well as the planned future Starships that will go to orbit, and carry their first passengers. That will be a flight to a sub-orbital altitude of just under 70,000 feet. The prototype spacecraft is already equipped with the three Raptor engines it will use for that flight.

Next, Starship Mk2, which is currently being built in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at another SpaceX facility, will attempt a similar high altitude test. Musk explained that both these families will continue to compete with each other internally and build Starship prototypes and rockets simultaneously. Mk3 will begin construction at Boca Chica beginning next month, and Mk4 will follow in Florida soon after. (9/29)

Musk Vows to Accelerate Starship Development (Source: Space News)
SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company would start test flights of its next-generation Starship vehicle in as soon as one to two months and reach orbit in as little as six months, even as some complain the company is devoting too many resources to this project. “We are going to be building ships and boosters at Boca and the Cape as fast as we can,” Musk said. “We’re improving both the design and the manufacturing method exponentially.”

The company does not yet have a new experimental permit or launch license for Starship, a much larger vehicle that will fly much higher. Musk praised the head of the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Wayne Monteith, as “very forward leaning” in the licensing process. “The FAA asks good questions and wants to make sure things are safe, as do we,” he said. “I feel pretty optimistic about things. I don’t see any fundamental obstacles.”

Editor's Note: I believe SpaceX's Starship production in Cocoa FL will shift to the company's new facility on Kennedy Space Center property, described here. Production at the Cocoa facility is complicated by difficulties the company will face for transporting the huge rocket sections across busy public roadways and over the Indian River to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (9/29)

Musk Responds to Bridenstine Concern About Crew Dragon Progress (Source: Space News)
Asked about Bridenstine’s comment, Musk said that SpaceX is spending only a small fraction of its overall resources on Starship. “Our resources are overwhelmingly on Falcon and Dragon,” he said, with less than five percent of the company working on Starship. He didn’t state if moving those resources onto Crew Dragon would speed up its development. (9/29)

Spaceport America’s Opportunity Extends Far Beyond Space Tourism (Source: Albuquerque Journal)
The world is watching New Mexico and anxiously awaiting the launch of commercial space tourism. Sir Richard Branson and his family will launch into space aboard Virgin Galactic from Spaceport America sometime in 2020. We applaud Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and our New Mexico legislators for funding a special appropriation for the New Mexico Tourism Department to host watch events around the state for that inaugural launch. That day in 2020 will be as exciting a day as July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

And beyond the first launch, millions will flock to Spaceport America to experience commercial space tourism firsthand, visiting the Spaceport America visitors and welcome centers and watching future launches. What most people don’t realize is how much Spaceport has grown since it opened in 2011. Spaceport America and the tenants located there have doubled their workforce in the last two years, and that number is expected to double again in the next two years.

But there is so much more than commercial space tourism happening at Spaceport America, and that is where the real opportunity lies. The global small satellite industry – manufacturing, testing and launching – is a $400 billion industry. There are currently seven tenants at Spaceport America including Virgin Galactic, Boeing, UP Aerospace, EXOS Aerospace, SpinLaunch, EnergeticX and ABL. All are involved or are planning to be in the small satellite industry in one way or another. (9/28)

Rocket Lab’s U.S. Launch Site Nears Completion (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab is nearing completion of its second launch site, and first in the United States, which the company says should be ready for its first Electron launch in early 2020. The company announced Sep. 18 it had achieved a milestone in the construction of Launch Complex (LC) 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, with the installation of the launch platform that will be used for Electron launches from the site.

In addition to the pad itself, the launch complex includes an integration facility that can accommodate four rockets at one time, as well as two clean rooms for payloads and offices. The facility is designed in general to support responsive launch. “We can have a vehicle stored in Wallops and rolled out to the pad in a number of hours,” Beck said. (9/28)

ULA Renames Ship Used to Transport Rockets (Source: WAAY)
United Launch Alliance held a christening ceremony to rename its ship. For the last 20 years, the ship used to carry rockets from Decatur, was called the Delta Mariner. But Friday she was renamed "Rocketship" during a full ship christening ceremony. The ceremony started with denaming the ship and then renaming her. Other rituals included pouring wine in the water from east to west, ringing bells, and breaking bottles of champagne on the boat. (9/27)

NASA Chief Throws Shade at SpaceX Ahead of Elon Musk's Starship Update (Source: CNET)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is looking forward to SpaceX and Elon Musk's big Starship update on Saturday. Sort of. Bridenstine dropped an unexpected statement on Twitter on Friday, writing, "I am looking forward to the SpaceX announcement tomorrow. In the meantime, Commercial Crew is years behind schedule. NASA expects to see the same level of enthusiasm focused on the investments of the American taxpayer. It's time to deliver."

SpaceX's shiny Starship prototypes designed to make it to Mars are all the rage right now. They're taking giant leaps and Musk is already looking ahead to sending the under-development next-generation spaceships into orbit. It seems Bridenstine would rather SpaceX got more hyped about its role in NASA's Commercial Crew program. Commercial Crew involves SpaceX and Boeing developing spacecraft that can ferry astronauts from US soil to the International Space Station. (9/28)

In Choosing Backup Rocket Provider, NASA Should Favor Musk Over Moscow (Source: Wall Street Journal)
To meet NASA's 2024 Artemis deadline, some officials want to make agreements with America’s ISS partners to participate in the proposed lunar-orbiting Gateway station. Canada, Japan and the Europeans shouldn’t be a problem. Russia, on the other hand, not only is working with China on lunar efforts; its own space operations are beset with problems that range from mysterious holes in its ISS segment to failures of the Soyuz spacecraft system. Yet Roscosmos is proposing to take part in the Gateway project by building an air lock as well as providing backup launch capability.

It’s an open question whether it can do so without a U.S. subsidy, but in any case Russian participation would open the way for a permanent base on the moon, perhaps in partnership with China. Any Russian rocket capable of putting a manned spacecraft into lunar orbit would also be able to send a lander to the surface. A Russian moonbase would prevent the U.S. and its allies from dominating the Earth-moon system and would make it harder to establish a space-commerce regime friendly to free enterprise. The longer it takes for Russia and China to gain a manned foothold on the moon, the easier it will be to entrench U.S. interests there.

To get to the moon, NASA is developing the large Space Launch System booster and the Orion capsule. But it shouldn’t make the mistake it made with the shuttle, which for two decades was the only way the U.S. had to send people into space. Luckily Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building a rocket that could easily be adapted to go to the moon. A commercial American launcher is a far better alternative than anything the Russians might offer. (9/26)