October 5, 2019

World’s First Space Trader Scopes Out a $43 Billion Industry (Source: Live Mint)
The business of manufacturing and launching small satellites is projected to grow almost fourfold over the coming decade to $42.8 billion, creating an opportunity for those seeking to profit from increased commerce between companies in the industry. One of them is Masatoshi Nagasaki, the world’s first self-styled space trader. The 39-year-old doesn’t work in a spacecraft, jetting from planet to planet like a character in an Isaac Asimov novel. Instead, he works on the seventh floor of a building that’s become a hub for space-related startups. He’s already won contracts from Japan’s space agency to broker satellite launches.

“Space companies will definitely need traders," said Nagasaki, dressed in a navy suit with a white shirt and no necktie. “I want to see space become an industry unto itself." Nagasaki’s startup, Space BD Inc. wants to become a one-stop shop for companies looking for room on rockets, offering technical advice and matching them to launch operators. Middlemen are now necessary to industrialize and develop businesses, Nagasaki said. (10/5)

New Holding Company to Support Space Startups (Source: Space News)
A new holding company seeks to back the development of space industry startups through both funding and infrastructure support. Denver-based Voyager Space Holdings, backed by space industry investor Dylan Taylor and with a board that includes a former NASA official and retired Air Force general, believes that space startups struggle to raise funding from investors who have limited time horizons.

“Voyager was founded to solve a critical challenge that NewSpace companies are facing in the current market, which is that traditional private capital models are ill equipped to serve the needs of today’s NewSpace companies,” Taylor, chairman and chief executive of Voyager, said in an Oct. 2 statement announcing the company. “Voyager’s permanent capital model will give these companies the resources they need to be successful.” (10/4)

NASA Paying Four Companies to Learn How to Make Fuel On the Moon (Source: Astronomy)
NASA has awarded a total of $17.4 million to four private aerospace companies to study and produce technologies that could help future space missions create fuel on the Moon and Mars. The companies include Jeff Bezo’s spaceship company, Blue Origin, as well as Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The other two recipients are OxEon Energy, a Utah-based clean energy company, and Skyre, a Connecticut business focused on compressing, capturing and recycling gases. These companies will now work with NASA and other groups to learn how to create propellants from resources on the Moon and Mars, as well as other products that will help with refueling in space. (10/3)

Second Time's a Charm? NASA Will Try Again for All Female Spacewalk This Month (Source: Houston Chronicle)
Later this month, NASA officials will try again to conduct their first all female spacewalk -- about seven months after their first attempt was quashed by an ill-fitting suit. The space agency on Friday announced that American astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will perform a spacewalk Oct. 21 as part of a sequence of walks to replace solar array batteries on the outside of the International Space Station.

Meir just arrived on the space station last week, but Koch has been on board since March. That month, Koch was supposed to take part in the first all-female spacewalk with American astronaut Anne McClain, but it was abruptly canceled when NASA discovered that only one space suit on the station would fit the women's smaller frames. (10/4)

China Launches HD Observation Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China sent its observation satellite into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 2:51 a.m. Saturday (Beijing Time). The satellite, Gaofen-10, was launched aboard a Long March-4C rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. It was the 314th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. As part of the country's high-definition Earth observation project, the microwave remote sensing satellite is capable of providing photographs with a resolution of less than a meter. (10/5)

Exoplanet Orbits its Star Every 18 Hours. The Quickest Hot-Jupiter Ever Found (Source: Universe Today)
In the past decade, thousands of planets have been discovered beyond our Solar System. These planets have provided astronomers with the opportunity to study planetary systems that have defied our preconcieved notions. This includes particularly massive gas giants that are many times the size of Jupiter (aka. “super-Jupiters”). And then there are those that orbit particularly close to their suns, otherwise known as “hot-Jupiters”.

Conventional wisdom indicates that gas giants should exist far from their suns and have long orbital periods that can last for a decade or longer. However, in a recent study, an international team of astronomers announced the detection of a “hot-Jupiter” with the shortest orbital period to date. Located 1,060 light-years away from Earth, this planet (NGTS-10b) takes just 18 hours to complete a full orbit of its sun. (10/2)

We May Be Closing In On the Discovery of Alien Life. Are We Prepared? (Source: NBC)
In the next decade or so, it’s entirely possible that you’ll see a headline announcing that NASA has found evidence of life in space. Would that news cause you to run screaming into the street? An article that appeared recently in Britain’s Sunday Telegraph hints that Jim Green, the director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, thinks the public might be discombobulated by the discovery of biology beyond the bounds of our own planet. But that’s not really what Green believes. He’s concerned that we haven’t thought much about the next steps by scientists, should we suddenly confront the reality of Martian life.

Obviously, whatever steps we should take if Martians are found is still uncertain. As Green said in the conversation, “What we will do next depends on what we find first.” But this much is for sure: A discovery that Mars has, or had, life would be enormously significant. It would be evidence that life is a process that begins on many worlds and consequently that the universe is brimming with biology — an idea that, as of now, is no more than an appealing hypothesis. (10/4)

Future Starship Updates Could Use More Details on Human Health and Survival (Source: The Verge)
The specs that Musk has given for Starship are definitely impressive for any rocket. The vehicle will supposedly tower over 165 feet (50 meters) tall, with a diameter of 30 feet (nine meters). Musk claimed the final version of the rocket will be able to launch 150 tons to Earth orbit, rivaling the capacity of the Saturn V rocket that took humans to the Moon. That would easily make Starship the most powerful rocket in the world when it becomes operational.

But Musk has barely touched on the technologies needed to keep people alive and healthy while on Starship — technologies that need to be developed relatively soon if the spacecraft has any hope of carrying people to deep-space destinations like the Moon and Mars in the near future. Life support systems add weight and complexity to the vehicle. Astronauts need places to exercise and sleep, air to breathe, and water to drink. And if Starship is supposed to start a lunar base, which Musk has proposed numerous times, then the higher radiation environment on the Moon will require advanced forms of shielding. Click here. (10/4)

NASA Lander Captures Marsquakes, Other Martian Sounds (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
NASA's InSight lander on Mars has captured the low rumble of marsquakes and a symphony of other otherworldly sounds. Scientists released an audio sampling Tuesday. The sounds had to be enhanced for humans to hear. InSight's seismometer has detected more than 100 events, but only 21 are considered strong marsquake candidates. The rest could be marsquakes — or something else. The French seismometer is so sensitive it can hear the Martian wind as well as movements by the lander's robot arm and other mechanical "dinks and donks " as the team calls them. (10/3)

SLS is NASA's Own Failure-to-Launch Story (Source: TIME)
Musk can be incorrigible when it comes to overpromising—claiming he would have astronauts flying a circumlunar mission by 2018, say, and landing on Mars by 2024, only to have to walk back the promises or stop talking about them altogether shortly after. The hubris in those boasts was brought into sharp relief in April, when an uncrewed Dragon exploded due to a fuel leak during a test on the ground. If your more modest spacecraft blows up before it even carries humans to orbit, how in the world will a bigger ship get them to the moon and Mars?

NASA has not yet had such a conspicuous accident with the SLS, but that's because the rocket hasn't flown at all. You can't fall down if you never stand up. NASA's SLS problems are by no means entirely of its own making. Flat Congressional funding and ever-changing space priorities from ever-changing presidential Administrations have forced the space agency to adopt a go-slow, start-stop approach to its work—entirely unlike the flat-out sprint that marked the first decade of human space travel. (10/4)

UK Eases Sanctions on Moscow to Allow Activities Related to Joint Space Mission to Mars (Source: Sputnik)
The United Kingdom has eased sanctions on Russia by amending its Export Control Order 2014 to allow for certain activities necessary for the ExoMars-2020 joint Russia-EU space mission. "Article 3 also amends the description of the activities which require prior authorisation under Article 4(2b) of the Russia Sanctions Regulation in article 5 of the 2014 Order to reflect amendments to that Article to allow certain activities necessary for certain flights within the ExoMars 2020 Mission Framework," the document read.

The amendments were made on September 9 and went into effect on Tuesday. The document did not specify which particular activities the amendment included. (10/4)

First Arab on ISS Returns to Earth (Source: Space Daily)
A three-man crew including an Emirati who became the first Arab to reach the International Space Station returned to Earth safely on Thursday and were in good shape, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. Hazzaa al-Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates touched down in the Kazakh steppes at 1059 GMT along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. (10/3)

Maxar Picks Deployable Space Systems to Provide Flexible Solar Arrays for Artemis Gateway (Source: Space News)
Maxar Technologies awarded a contract to Deployable Space Systems to manufacture flexible solar arrays for the first element of NASA's lunar Gateway. The contract this week is for a pair of Roll Out Solar Array solar panels, each capable of producing 32.5 kilowatts of power. The arrays will be used on the Power and Propulsion Element that Maxar is building for NASA that will serve as the foundation for the Gateway in orbit around the moon. (10/4)

OrbitFab Raises $3 Million for Space Propellant Depots (Source: Tech Crunch)
A startup planning propellant depots in orbit for refueling satellites has raised $3 million. OrbitFab announced Thursday it raised the seed round of funding from venture capital fund Type 1 Ventures, Techstars and others. The company is working on technology to allow for refueling of satellites using small depots in orbit, and recently tested that technology on the International Space Station. At a conference in Washington earlier in the week, the company said it was still working on raising a funding round but hopes to have its first tanker in orbit by the end of next year. (10/4)

Price for Satellite Imagery May Hamper Demand (Source: Space News)
The commercial Earth imaging industry believes there would be demand for extremely high resolution images, but probably not at a price that closes a business case. The release of a spy satellite image of an Iranian launchpad by President Trump in August, with a resolution of about 10 centimeters, prompted discussion about whether such imagery would be commercially viable. Companies in the business believe that, if they had access to such images, they would find customers, but the high cost of the satellites needed to produce them would not make it economically viable. Companies also face an obstacle of U.S. regulations that restrict the sale of images to those with resolutions no better than 25 centimeters. (10/4)

Virgin Orbit Gets UK Pilot for Smallsat Launch (Source: Virgin Orbit)
The Royal Air Force has assigned a pilot to Virgin Orbit as part of a smallsat launch project. Flight Lieutenant Mathew "Stanny" Stannard will join Virgin Orbit's group of pilots who fly the company's 747 aircraft, used as a air-launch platform for its LauncherOne rocket. The U.K. Ministry of Defence announced in July Program Artemis, which will involve the launch of a smallsat on LauncherOne as a demonstration of responsive launch capabilities. (10/4)

All-Russian Crew to Fly Soyuz to ISS (Source: TASS)
An all-Russian crew could launch on a Soyuz spacecraft to the ISS next fall — unless NASA needs a seat. Sergei Krikalev, executive director of human spaceflight at Roscosmos, said Russia plans to launch three cosmonauts on a Soyuz to the ISS in the fall of 2020. Soyuz flights have, since the station's beginnings, included Russian as well as American or others, particularly since Soyuz became the only means for crews to get to and from the station. The first all-Russian crew is dependent on NASA getting commercial crew vehicles in service, and Krikalev said continued delays could "ruin" those plans. (10/4)

Indian Spacecraft Completes Five (Earth) Years in Mars Orbit (Source: Ars Technica)
An Indian spacecraft has now spent five years in orbit around Mars. The Mars Orbiter Mission, or Mangalyaan, has been in orbit around the planet since late September 2014. The orbiter, India's first Mars mission, has been a technical success but a scientific disappointment given the limited payload of instruments on board. (10/4)

Astronomers See Gas Filaments Connecting Galaxies (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers have seen for the first time a "cosmic web" of material connecting distant galaxies. Observations of a "protocluster" of galaxies 12 billion light-years away by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope revealed filaments of hydrogen gas connecting the galaxies. Astronomers had speculated that 60% of the hydrogen gas created in the Big Bang ended up in these filaments, and played a key role in galaxy formation. (10/4)

SpaceX Fan Spends Night In Jail After Apparent Texas Trespass (Source: Business Insider)
JB Wagoner, who says he's a "big fan" of SpaceX, took close-up photos of the Starhopper prototype at Boca Chica on Sunday. But hours later, the Cameron County Sheriff's Department called and told Wagoner to turn himself in on suspicion of criminal trespassing. Some large sections of the chain-link fence barring public access to the launch site appeared to have been detached. Wagoner said he didn't see any "no trespassing" signs before approaching and photographing Starhopper.

Wagoner, who is now out of jail on bond, is an aspiring space-technology entrepreneur who's drawing up plans for a Mars habitat analog in Iceland. He said he wants "a good relationship with SpaceX" and hopes the charge is dropped. (10/4)

Canadian Government To Facilitate Space-Data Partnering Opportunity with the UK (Source: SpaceQ)
With the mantra of a whole of government approach at work, a team effort by several government departments is underway to organize a space-data partnering mission to the United Kingdom (UK) next March. Specifically, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is partnering with the National Research Council’s (NRC) Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) with support from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on this mission to the UK. (10/4)

KAGRA to Join LIGO and Virgo in Hunt for Gravitational Waves (Source: LIGO)
Japan's Kamioka Gravitational-Wave Detector (KAGRA) will soon team up with the National Science Foundation's Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Europe's Virgo in the search for subtle shakings of space and time known as gravitational waves. Representatives for the three observatories signed a memorandum of agreement about their collaborative efforts on Oct. 4. The agreement includes plans for joint observations and data sharing. (10/4)