October 29, 2019

Signal Compression Tech Allows More Spectrum for Terrestrial 5G (Source: Space News)
Satellite operators have increased the amount of C-band spectrum they will offer to terrestrial 5G operators. Intelsat, SES and Telesat, the three members of the C-Band Alliance, said Monday they now propose transferring 300 megahertz in C-band satellite spectrum, up from a previous offer of 200 megahertz. The alliance said the increased spectrum is feasible by accelerating the adoption of advanced signal compression technology and "related signal enhancements" for satellite broadcasters. Terrestrial operators had sought more spectrum, and one FCC commissioner, Michael O'Rielly, previously said at least 300 megahertz of C-band would be needed for 5G. The FCC expects to decide this year on how to repurpose some or all of the 500 megahertz of C-band downlink spectrum satellite operators use in the U.S. mainly for satellite television and radio broadcasts. (10/29)

Pentagon SDA Gets Permanent Director (Source: Space News)
The acting director of the Pentagon's Space Development Agency now has the job on a permanent basis. The Defense Department announced Monday that Derek Tournear, who has led the SDA on an acting basis since June, will remain in the post permanently. The Pentagon described Tournear as the "first permanent director" of the agency; Fred Kennedy was the original pick to be SDA's first director by Mike Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, but resigned before his position was made permanent. Tournear's immediate challenge will be to get SDA staffed and secure funding to start programs. (10/29)

Arianespace to Launch Two Earth Science Satellites, on Vega and Soyuz Rockets (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace signed two contracts to launch European Space Agency Earth science satellites Monday. Under one contract, Arianespace will launch ESA's Biomass spacecraft, which will measure carbon stored in the world's forests, on a Vega rocket in October 2022. Under the other contract, a Soyuz rocket will launch the EarthCARE (Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer) in June 2022 to study how clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere reflect sunlight and trap infrared radiation. Both missions are part of ESA's Earth Explorer line of Earth science missions. (10/29)

EchoStar Acquires Helios (Source: EchoStar)
EchoStar had acquired a Canadian IoT satellite company. EchoStar said it has purchased Helios Wire Corporation and its Australian subsidiaries. Helios Wire had been developing a satellite constellation to provide IoT services at S-band, with one satellite launched late last year. An EchoStar executive said the deal "advances our strategy and further lays the foundation for a global S-band solution for the future." Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. (10/29)

Big Asteroid Could Be Small Planet (Source: Space News)
Astronomers believe a main belt asteroid could be the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system. New observations of the asteroid Hygiea by the European Southern Observatory show that the object appears spherical, suggesting it is large enough that self-gravity could shape it into a sphere. That would qualify it to be designated a "dwarf planet" under the International Astronomical Union's definitions of such worlds, joining worlds like Pluto and Ceres. With a diameter of just 430 kilometers, it would be by far the smallest known dwarf planet. (10/29)

Mysterious Asteroid May Actually Be the Smallest Dwarf Planet in the Solar System (Source: Gizmodo)
A new telescopic survey of Hygiea—the fourth largest object in the main asteroid belt—suggests it’s a dwarf planet, due to its surprisingly spherical shape. Discovered in 1849 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, Hygiea is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It’s the fourth largest object in the belt, with Ceres, Vesta, and Pallas being the only bigger ones (of the three, only Ceres is a dwarf planet). Despite its size, however, Hygiea has remained a poorly studied object, and it’s easily the most mysterious of the big four.

New research published today in Nature Astronomy revises much of what we know about Hygiea, including its shape, size, rotation, and origin story. The study, led by astronomer Pierre Vernazza from the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille in France, was made possible thanks to recent observations made by the European Space Agency’s SPHERE instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile’s Atacama Desert. (10/28)

Funding Compromise Could Derail Space Force Plan (Source: Space News)
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 is still held up by major disagreements between the House and Senate over border wall funding, nuclear weapons and other contentious issues. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has suggested Congress pass a “skinny” NDAA that only authorizes military pay and benefits. “A skinny bill is not a substitute for a full bill, but it might be a necessary next step if we don’t reach an agreement soon,” Inhofe said in a statement.

A slimmed-down NDAA would be bad news for Space Force proponents as it would not include any language to authorize a new service. “I still believe we’re going to get the bill done,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said. “We’re not going to have a smaller bill. I’m confident we can resolve this. It’s not going to be as quick as we would like,” Smith added. “We have a lot to talk about. I think we will get there.” So, what about the Space Force? “I think it is likely at the end of the day there will be some form of a space force in the final bill,” Smith said. (10/29)

Kennedy Space Center to Award $7 Billion Contract for Artemis Missions (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is close to awarding a 15-year contract for $7 billion to provide logistics support for upcoming Artemis lunar missions, a NASA official said. Big players in the aerospace industry have submitted proposals, but further information will only be released after they're evaluated and results are announced, said Mark Wiese, manager of NASA's Gateway Logistics Element. The result will be a huge boost to the regional and state economies, which have rebounded following a crash during the Great Recession and end of the space shuttle program in 2011.

It will be the first long-term contract to be awarded for NASA's Artemis program, and most of the work will happen in Florida. The winning contractor will be expected to provide a new spacecraft or cargo capsule with double the current capacity for resupply missions to the International Space Station, Wiese said. It also would require a capability to launch fuel at some point. Wiese's NASA team consists of about 100 people, and he expects the number engaged in logistics to reach 500. (10/29)

China Drawing Up Plan for Manned Lunar Exploration (Source: Space Daily)
China is carrying out in-depth demonstration and long-term planning for its manned lunar exploration, and has formed an overall consensus and a preliminary plan, according to a senior space engineer. At the 1st China Space Science Assembly held in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province, from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28, Chen Shanguang, deputy chief designer of China's manned space program, said the future trend of manned space cause is to explore the moon, and establish a lunar base to carry out scientific research, and accumulate technology and experience for going deeper into space.

"The long-term goal is to send people to Mars." The manned lunar exploration will help improve human's understanding of the formation and evolution of the moon, as astronauts may set up facilities on the moon to obtain scientific data and samples, Chen said. Solving the scientific problems involving human survival on the moon could lay a foundation for human beings to go further into deep space, Chen added. (10/29)

Virgin Galactic to Touch Down at British Spaceport (Source: The Times)
The UK government has shortlisted five sites for the first Virgin Galactic spaceport in Britain, Sir Richard Branson said yesterday, as the company made its stock market debut in New York. Shares in the first publicly traded human spaceflight company rose by as much as 9.5 per cent, giving it a market capitalisation of about $2.5 billion. Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004, aims to take passengers into space on sub-orbital rides, during which they will briefly experience weightlessness, witness the curve of the Earth and see the thin blue line of the atmosphere. Tickets will cost $250,000

Alaska Spaceport Reaches Out to Community as it Plans For the Future (Source: Kodiak Daily Mirror)
The Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska is focusing on improving its public image and cooperating with the Kodiak community as it looks to increase its launch frequency, according to comments made by Alaska Aerospace Corp. President and CEO Mark Lester at the spaceport open house on Thursday. Almost 200 visitors participated in the open house, including more than 70 schoolchildren. The open house provided members of the community the opportunity to tour the launch complex, where a joint mission between the Missile Defense Agency and the Israeli Missile Defense Organization led to the successful July launch of Arrow 3, an Israeli anti-ballistic missile. (10/28)