Virgin Orbit Says Its
Light Footprint Enables it to Launch Outside the US Without ITAR Tech
Export Issues (Source: Space Intel Report)
Virgin Orbit said its plans to use spaceports in Japan and the UK will
not be sytmied by US export control regulations because the launches
will not involve the transfer of US technology. "In terms of the
regulatory side of this, we will need to go through certain channels to
enable taking our system over there, but there will be no export of US
technology," said John Fuller of Virgin Orbit.
The mobile launch service, which in addition to LauncherOne includes a
Class 8 cleanroom and kerosene and liquid-oxygen fuel trailers, can be
shipped worldwide. "I can take this entire system, deliver it to an
airport, keep our staff and security staff there, run through the
launch of one mission, two missions, eight missions, and then once
we're done we pack up and leave and you wouldn't even know we were
there," he said. "That's really how we approach the regulatory
framework." (10/28)
Virgin Galactic Is a Huge
Financial Risk (Source: Bloomberg)
Richard Branson’s pet project will doubtless provide a thrilling
service, but as an investment it’s not for the fainthearted. Virgin
Galactic expects to be valued at $2.3 billion. Deduct its cash and
that’s three times the revenue it might generate in 2023 and 7 times
expected Ebitda (a measure of cash earnings). That’s a sky-high price
for a business with so much to prove. Even if all goes well, Virgin
Galactic can’t be sure of the demand for space travel.
Virgin Galactic will use the cash to build more spaceships. It says the
funds will last for at least two years, by which time commercial space
flights should have begun. Right now the company isn’t generating much
revenue and is burning through cash rapidly. Over the past 30 months
its net losses totaled more than $360 million. But by 2023 Virgin aims
to have five spacecraft, each carrying at least five passengers and
conducting five flights per month. Once paid-for flights start, the
commercial pressure will ratchet up.
In reality, things could be bumpier. The company still needs final
authorization from the FAA to achieve its aim of starting to transport
customers next year. In view of a fatal accident involving Virgin
Galactic in 2014, one assumes the FAA will be cautious. Any technical
problems that ground the fleet would shake customer confidence. If
Virgin can’t take off, it will have to use more of its cash and might
conceivably have to raise more equity, which would dilute investors.
(10/28)
Coming Together To Go To
The Moon (Source: Space Review)
Last week, there was a lot of discussion at the International
Astronautical Congress about both countries and companies partnering on
NASA’s Artemis program to return humans to the Moon. Jeff Foust reports
that while there were signs of progress, funding issues could slow the
agency down. Click here.
(10/28)
One Scientist’s 15-Year
(and Counting) Quest to Save Earth From Asteroid Impacts
(Source: Space Review)
Last month NASA announced it would proceed with development of a space
telescope to search for near Earth asteroids outside of its usual set
of planetary science missions. Three University of Arizona scientists
explain why this is a major milestone for the researcher who has
advocated for such a mission for 15 years. Click here.
(10/28)
A Possible Technique for
Giving Names to Nameless Satellites (Source: Space Review)
Some objects in orbit are missing from official government satellite
catalogs even as they’re tracked by hobbyists. Charles Phillips
discusses one approach to linking those observed but uncatalogued
satellites with their real identities. Click here.
(10/28)
NASA Should Shed Lesser
Priorities to achieve a 2024 Moon Landing (Source: Space
News)
President Trump and Vice President Pence directed NASA to achieve the
challenging goal of landing U.S. astronauts on the moon by 2024. NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine has correctly stressed having this
near-term goal should help the program succeed. This should drive NASA
to a streamlined program with straightforward procurements. It should
drive NASA to form a lean, skilled management approach that provides
focus to design and integration detail and achieving milestones on
schedule.
The single highest priority from the White House is for NASA to land
U.S. astronauts on the moon by 2024. NASA has mixed other priorities
into its plan that make 2024 nearly impossible to achieve. NASA’s
current approach is overly complex and risky. A small space station
designed to orbit the moon and support future Mars missions, Gateway is
a NASA internal priority.
The Gateway is arbitrarily imposed and is slowing America’s progress
back to the moon. Its developments are being built from the ground up.
For missions to the moon, each flight element is required to fit on
commercial launch vehicles with limited lift capability. But, because
of the lift limitations, NASA needs transfer vehicles and refueling
elements to enable assembly and fueling in space. It’s a complex
process, made more so by the fact that the lunar lander and ascent
vehicles are launched separately to the Gateway for assembly and
fueling. (10/27)
Japan's Mitsubishi May
Upgrade H3 Rocket for Lunar Missions (Source: Space News)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is considering upgrades of its H3 rocket
for lunar missions. A company official said last week that upgrades of
the H3's upper stage could allow it to send an HTV-X cargo spacecraft
to the lunar Gateway using two launches, one to place the HTV-X in
orbit and the other an upper stage with enlarged fuel tank to dock with
the cargo spacecraft and boost it to the moon. A later upgrade to the
H3, with a triple-core design like the Falcon Heavy, could send a cargo
spacecraft to the moon on a single mission. (10/28)
Air Force to Study Launch
Requirements (Source: Space News)
The Air Force is starting a new study of space architectures as it
considers the long-term future of space launch. In a request for
information (RFI) posted Friday, the Air Force Space and Missile
Systems Center announced the start of a National Security Launch
Architecture study. The study is an effort to gain deeper insight into
the launch industry's capabilities and planned investments as the Air
Force begins to lay out future requirements for the next phase of the
National Security Space Launch program. The RFI seeks responses by
mid-November on commercial and civil demand for launches, as well as
what non-existing launch and orbit transfer capabilities satellite
operators wish were available. (10/28)
Northrop Grumman to
Launch OmegA Rocket From California Delta-4 Pad (Source:
Space News)
Northrop Grumman will launch its OmegA rocket from a California launch
pad currently used by the Delta 4. A Northrop executive said last week
it would use Space Launch Complex (SLC) 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base
for West Coast launches of its rocket. Modifications of SLC-6 would be
"not as difficult as one might imagine" to support launches of the
OmegA, whose lower stages use solid fuel. Delta 4 Heavy launches will
take place through 2024, but Northrop believes it could work on pad
modifications on a non-interference basis before the Delta's retirement
if the Air Force selects the OmegA for development. (10/28)
Air Force Discusses Polar
Launch Corridor From Florida (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
In December 2017 the Air Force announced it had certified a polar
launch corridor from Florida’s east coast. Many wondered if anyone
would actually opt to launch a polar mission from Florida and compete
with a growing launch cadence and demand from the Florida spaceport
instead of utilizing the optimally-placed and designed Vandenberg Air
Force Base (or Kodiak Alaska) for polar launches. Now we know the first
polar mission, slated to launch No Earlier Than (NET) March 2020 will
be SAOCOM-1B, launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9.
The Air Force mandated that rockets flying the new corridor must have
an Automated Flight Safety System (AFSS). According to the Air Force:
“AFSS allows the rocket to fly unconstrained from our command destruct
coverage and without accommodation for legacy calculated processing
response times. The response of the on-board decision logic is faster
than our legacy architecture. The capability of the rocket is also
important since it provides the necessary energy to make the required
maneuvers to meet final orbital requirements.”
What NASASpaceflight understands is different about the Florida polar
corridor is that launch providers will have to show justification for
wanting to use Florida for polar launches instead of Vandenberg –
especially if that provider has an operational polar launch pad at
Vandenberg. Exactly what that justification can be is open to each
request and will be reviewed by the Air Force. To this end, the Air
Force noted, “At this time, Air Force Space Command does not foresee a
change to the launch capabilities that both ranges provide. Click here.
(10/28)
Does America Need a Space
Force? (Source: Defense One)
A new service branch would put more bureaucracy between critical
capabilities and the troops who need them. With the impeachment debate
moving full speed ahead, President Trump may be hard-pressed to move
forward on his larger agenda in the months to come. But a few key
policy issues are likely to continue to be the subject of intense
debate. One, of course, is the president’s much-touted and
ill-conceived “wall” on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Another, less discussed but also close to his heart, is the president’s
desire to build a Space Force as a sixth branch of the U.S. armed
forces, alongside the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard.
How quickly the Space Force develops will depend in part on the outcome
of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which in
the short term at least is focused on parallel proposals to create a
“space corps” in the House or a “space command” in the Senate under the
supervision of the Air Force, which may or may not be a stepping stone
towards a full-fledged Space Force.
As members of the Center for International Policy’s Sustainable Defense
Task Force, we have strongly urged that a Space Force not be created,
because it is likely to increase bureaucratic waste, encourage the
development of costly and unworkable high-tech weapons systems, and to
focus attention on the further militarization of space rather than how
best to cooperatively manage the risks to America’s civilian and
military space assets. It is also likely to be costly—recent reporting
by Bloomberg indicates even the limited Space Development Agency would
cost nearly $11 billion over the next 5 years. (10/9)
SpaceX President Teases
Starship’s Game-Changing Starlink Launch Capabilities
(Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell teased new information
detailing the wealth of benefits that the next-generation Starship
launch vehicle could bring for the deployment of the company’s Starlink
internet satellite constellation. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can launch
60 Starlink satellites at a time but that's only a fraction of what
Starship will be able to do, President Gwynne Shotwell said. "Starship
can take 400 satellites."
In light of this new figure of 400 satellites per individual Starship
launch, it’s far easier to understand why SpaceX took the otherwise
ludicrous step of reserving space for tens of thousands more Starlink
satellites. Even if SpaceX arrives at a worst-case-scenario and is only
able to launch Starship-Super Heavy once every 4-8 weeks for the first
several years, that could translate to 2400-4800 Starlink satellites
placed in orbit every year.
Given that 120 tons to LEO is well within Starship’s theoretical
capabilities without orbital refueling, it’s entirely possible that
Starship could surpass Falcon 9’s Starlink mass-to-orbit almost
immediately after it completes its first orbital launch and recovery: a
single Starship launch would be equivalent to almost 7 Falcon 9
missions. (10/28)
SpaceX Wants to Land
Starship on the Moon Within Three Years, With People Soon After
(Source: CNBC)
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell gave an updated timeline on
the company’s goals for the immense Starship rocket it is developing.
“We want to land it on the moon before 2022 with cargo and with people
shortly thereafter,” Shotwell said at an investor conference on Friday.
Shotwell also gave insight into the company’s other ambitious program
in development, a satellite internet network called Starlink. SpaceX
wants to get to a rate where its launching 60 Starlink satellites
“every other week to fill out the constellation,” Shotwell said. (10/27)
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