September 3, 2019

US Military Eyes Strategic Value of Earth-Moon Space (Source: Space.com)
This week, the new United States Space Command officially makes its debut, emphasizing that space is a vital military domain — one that's critical to America's security and economic well-being. Standing up the command coincides with ongoing White House support to establish a Space Force as a separate military branch.

To this end, there is increasing military interest in cislunar space. That's the region extending beyond Earth to the moon. Indeed, the protection of trade routes and lines of communication are traditional military responsibilities, and this will continue to be true as cislunar space becomes "high ground" — a position of advantage or superiority.

At last June's Space Resources Roundtable, held at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, the military utility of phased approaches to tap lunar water ice and asteroid resources for propulsion and other applications was detailed. Jason Aspiotis and Aiden O'Leary of Booz Allen Hamilton in Charlotte, North Carolina, presented a stimulating paper: "In-space Water Supply Chain Servicing the U.S. Military: A Preliminary Estimate of Future Potential U.S. Military Supply and Demand for In-space Water-Based Fuel." ... "It's a preliminary first-look study to gauge the potential utility of in-space resources, specifically water in the context of U.S. military and intelligence assets," Aspiotis said. (8/29)

India Has It Right: Nations Either Aim for the Moon or Get Left Behind in the Space Economy (Source: Space.com)
India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft has settled into lunar orbit, ahead of its scheduled Moon landing on September 7. If it succeeds India will join a very select club, now comprising the former Soviet Union, the U.S. and China. As with all previous Moon missions, national prestige is a big part of India's Moon shot. But there are some colder calculations behind it as well. Space is poised to become a much bigger business, and both companies and countries are investing in the technological capability to ensure they reap the earthly rewards.

Last year private investment in space-related technology skyrocketed to US$3.25 billion, according to the London-based Seraphim Capital – a 29% increase on the previous year. The list of interested governments is also growing. Along with China and India joining the lunar A-list, in the past decade eight countries have founded space agencies – Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The first space race, between the Soviet Union and the United States, was singularly driven by political will and government policy. The new space race is more complex, with private players taking the lead in many ways, but government priorities and policy are still crucial. They will determine which countries reach the heights, and which get left behind. (8/30)

A trip to Mars Could Cause Brain Damage. Here's How NASA Aims to Protect Astronauts (Source: NBC)
Astronauts who travel to Mars or other destinations in deep space will leave Earth’s protective cocoon for months or years at a time. And a new NASA-funded study suggests that chronic exposure to radiation could harm astronauts’ minds as well as their bodies — potentially affecting space flyers’ moods and even their ability to think. That could be a big deal.

“The nature of the radiation environment in space will not deter our efforts to travel to Mars, but it may be the single biggest obstacle humankind must resolve to travel beyond the Earth’s orbit,” the researchers wrote. Radiation exposure "affects cognitive function and behavior at the cellular level,” adding that the exposure might make it hard for astronauts to respond effectively to unforeseen circumstances or stressful situations. Click here. (8/28)

Space Race Incentives: A Lunar Return Prize or Pay-on-Delivery Contracts? (Source: The Hill)
Thus far, NASA has taken a middle ground between pay on delivery and the most traditional kind of cost-plus contract by paying for milestones for development projects. The Commercial Crew program that is building private spacecraft to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station is a prime example. The first voyages back to the moon are planned to be a combination of the traditional, tried and true NASA approach to spaceflight and something more like Commercial Crew.

The astronauts will fly to a moon orbiting Gateway space station in an Orion spacecraft, boosted to space by a heavy lift Space Launch System. They will pick up a commercial lunar lander at the Gateway and ride it the rest of the way to the lunar surface. A pay-on-delivery arrangement might work within rather than parallel to Artemis and would involve the supplies needed to build a permanent lunar base.

Fast forward to the late 2020s, after NASA and its international partners have mounted a number of sortie missions to the moon. The space agency would contract with a company such as SpaceX or Blue Origin to deliver a cargo of habitats, rovers and other supplies to the site where the lunar base is planned. The company delivers the cargo and only then gets paid for the service. Astronauts would then unload the commercial spacecraft that has landed on the lunar surface and start setting up the first permanent home for humans on another world. Click here. (8/30) 

Space: The Final Legal Frontier (Source: Washington Post)
NASA astronaut Anne McClain was accused last week of what may be the first crime committed in space. Former Air Force intelligence officer Summer Worden filed an identify-theft report with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging McClain, her estranged wife, accessed her bank account without permission from the International Space Station, where she is stationed on a six-month mission. According to the New York Times, McClain admitted to logging into the account from space, but claimed it was routine and blamed the allegations on the couple’s bitter separation and ongoing custody battle.

The incident is still being investigated, but it raised questions about how the law applies in space. The International Space Station is governed by a treaty called the Intergovernmental Agreement on Space Station Cooperation, signed by all five entities involved in the ISS — Russia, Japan, Europe, Canada and the United States. When a crime is committed on the ISS, it states that the country whose national was involved has criminal jurisdiction, unless people from other countries were affected.

Because McClain’s actions — whether criminal or not — affected only U.S. citizens, it falls entirely under U.S. law. But what if the crime involved a civilian staying in a space hotel and, instead of going into a computer, she stole another guest’s watch, whose laws would apply then? In the soon-to-be era of space tourism and routine travel, criminal jurisdiction is just one of many complex legal issues arising. Click here. (8/31)

Where Are NASA's Extra Saturn V Moon Rockets From the Apollo Era? (Source: Space.com)
Nine Saturn V rockets moved astronauts to the moon between 1969 and 1972, but there were three extras made — and you can still see some of the pieces today,  a retired Boeing engineer says. "Where are the three rockets that didn't go to the moon?" Ron Creel, an Apollo engineer, recently asked in a Boeing video posted on Twitter.

"It's a bit of a trick question," Creel said, delving into where NASA's extra three rockets ended up. The public can view one Saturn V rocket at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and another at the agency's Kennedy Space Center near Orlando, Florida. And, while these are each complete rockets, they include an assortment of stages for the various missions. Neither one includes the full set for either of the missions, Creel explained.

A third Saturn V rocket, a dynamic test vehicle from the Apollo program, is currently on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the official visitor center for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Additionally, visitors at the center can see a replica of the rocket standing outside at the facility. "Two of the stages are in the ocean — the Atlantic Ocean, because they were the booster for the Skylab mission," he said about the last rocket. Skylab was the first U.S. space station and launched in 1975 using this Saturn V rocket. The station hosted three crews before deorbiting in 1979. (8/29)

Amateurs Identify U.S. Spy Satellite Behind President Trump's Tweet (Source: NPR)
Amateur satellite trackers say they believe an image tweeted by President Trump on Friday came from one of America's most advanced spy satellites. The image almost certainly came from a satellite known as USA 224, according to Marco Langbroek, a satellite-tracker based in the Netherlands. The satellite was launched by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2011. Almost everything about it remains highly classified, but Langbroek says that based on its size and orbit, most observers believe USA 224 is one of America's multibillion-dollar KH-11 reconnaissance satellites..

"It's basically a very large telescope, not unlike the Hubble Space Telescope," Langbroek says. "But instead of looking up to the stars, it looks down to the earth's surface and makes very detailed images." The image tweeted by Trump on Friday, showing the aftermath of an accident at Iran's Imam Khomeini Space Center, was so detailed that some experts doubted whether it really could have come from a satellite high above the planet. Iran had been preparing to launch a rocket known as the Safir with a small satellite aboard, but experts believe it exploded during fueling. (9/2)

India Releases Lunar Lander for Attempted Touchdown (Source: Space News)
Chandrayaan-2 has released its lunar lander ahead of an attempted landing Friday. The Vikram lander separated from the orbiter early Monday, a day after the combined spacecraft performed the last in a series of maneuvers to lower its orbit around the moon. Vikram will touch down between 4 and 5 p.m. Eastern Friday and, if successful, make India just the fourth country to soft-land a spacecraft on the moon. (9/3)

Russia Lauches Military Satellite on Rockot (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Russia launched a military satellite on a Rockot vehicle Friday. The Rockot lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 10 a.m. Eastern and placed the GEO-IK 2 satellite into a polar orbit. The satellite is the latest in a series of satellites that performs geodetic mapping for the Russian military, which is used in refining missile trajectories. (9/2)

Air Force Stops 'Gag Order' on Space Force Debate (Source: Space News)
U.S. Air Force officials said they will work to allow a more open debate about the proposed Space Force amid criticism that it stifled advocates of the new service. A recent spate of reports and commentaries have claimed that supporters of the Space Force in the Air Force were given a "gag order" and that a three-star general who openly supported the Space Force was effectively forced to retire. Current and former Air Force leadership, including former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, denied there was a gag order of any kind, but said they are aware of the criticism and are taking steps to ensure there is a more open debate about space. (9/3)

Army General Tapped for Space Command Post (Source: Space News)
An Army general has been tapped to lead one of the two major components of the new U.S. Space Command. Army Brig. Gen. Thomas James will be commander of Joint Task Force Space Defense, responsible for "space superiority operations," according to a news release about his assignment. James was previously deputy commander of the organization responsible for space operations under U.S. Strategic Command, the Joint Functional Component Command for Space. The other major component of U.S. Space Command, the Combined Force Space Component Command, will be led by the commander of the 14th Air Force, Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting. (9/3)

Space Command Divides Responsibilities of Field Support, Asset Protection (Source: Air Force Magazine)
US Space Command boss Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond used his first full day on the job to establish the two subordinate commands that will carry out the organization’s main responsibilities. One supports field commanders’ needs for space capabilities like GPS and communications, while the other protects US assets.

The Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., led by Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, is in charge of supporting other combatant commanders and the joint force through the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg; the Missile Warning Center at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo.; the Joint Overhead Persistent Infrared Center at Buckley AFB, Colo.; and the Joint Navigation Warfare Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M.

The CFSCC also oversees certain Air Force, Army, and Navy space units, SPACECOM said in an Aug. 30 release. The Joint Task Force-Space Defense, run by Brig. Gen. Thomas James, works to “deter aggression, defend space capability, and … defeat adversaries” through the National Space Defense Center at Schriever AFB, Colo., and other groups. It is located at Schriever as well. (8/30)

SpaceX Complaint on Air Force Launcher Decision Transferred to Different Court (Source: Space News)
A federal court concluded last week that it doesn't have jurisdiction over a suit SpaceX filed about the Air Force's ongoing launch competition. Judge Lydia Kay Grigsby of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims said the court could not take up the suit about the Launch Service Agreements the Air Force awarded last year to Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman and ULA, in large part because they are cooperative agreements that cannot be legally challenged like standard procurement contract awards. The judge, though, said SpaceX could transfer its complaint to U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. (9/3)

Germany's PTScientists Acquired During Bankruptcy, May Continue Lunar Lander Effort (Source: Space News)
German lunar lander company PTScientists has been acquired by an unnamed aerospace company. PTScientists filed for bankruptcy in a German court in July, and on Monday the company and its bankruptcy administrator announced the sale, declining to disclose both who bought the company and for how much. The deal will allow PTScientists to retain its 60 employees and continue work on lunar lander concepts. (9/3)

At Florida International University, Students Help Invent Innovative Satellite Antenna (Source: Air & Space)
A painter and sculptor since she was a child, Florida International University student Briana Gonzalez brings an artistic sensibility to her work at a new FIU center to design “origami” antennas. The lightweight antennas are designed to fold, like origami, for easy packing, making them useful for spacecraft and for soldiers who ordinarily lug heavy communications equipment. Once deployed, using simple mechanisms, the antennas can continue to change their profiles and performance.

Such designs are more efficient than rigid antennas, and their unconventional nature—and aesthetics—appeal to Gonzalez, who is working toward a degree combining art, electrical engineering, and physics. Gonzalez writes computer code for algorithms that use a process akin to natural selection to eliminate unworkable configurations. She starts with a population of hundreds or thousands of possible options for a new origami antenna, then enlists a code to perform the inexorable Darwinian process. “Since we have a lot of [solutions], an algorithm will have the population go through a series of natural selection, kill off certain answers, pick parents, and then produce offspring,” she says.

Gonzalez writes her code in FIU’s new Transforming Antennas Center (TAC), founded last year by Stavros Georgakopoulos, a professor in FIU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The center is funded by a $4.8 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Georgakopoulos, who joined FIU in 2007, directs seven undergraduate students, 12 graduate students, and two post-doctorate researchers developing origami communication and sensing antennas. He holds five patents on physically reconfigurable antennas. (9/3)

European Astronauts Unlikely to Abandon Soyuz Rides After US Commercial Crew Rides Available (Source: Sputnik)
European countries are unlikely to completely stop using Russian Soyuz spacecraft for manned flights since options for transportation to outer space should be diversified, Prof. Dr Hansjoerg Dittus, the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) executive board member for space research and technology, said.

"If ... [capabilities] would exist in the future that NASA will fly again their own spacecraft, then the first choice would be to fly with them as well. Nevertheless, it's not the case so far. Presently, we are still based, whatever we do in space, on the transport capabilities here in Russia, and I cannot imagine that this will be given up completely in the future. We always need alternatives; we always need backups in case things cannot work," Dittus said. (9/2)