November 20, 2019

Portugal Plans Satellite Constellation for Maritime Monitoring (Source: Space News)
Portugal's new space agency is considering a satellite constellation for maritime monitoring. Luís Serina, the Portuguese Space Agency's industrial relations and projects officer, said the country is concerned about illegal fishing, maritime piracy and ocean pollution, among other topics. He said the agency is open to international collaboration on "an Atlantic constellation to deal with some of the challenges of the Atlantic and the oceans in general," but that such plans were still in their early phases. (11/20)

ESA Tests AI with Cubesat Mission (Source: Space News)
ESA will test artificial intelligence in a cubesat launching next year. One of the two 6U cubesats that comprises the FSSCat mission will rely on artificial intelligence to determine which images to send from the satellite to ground stations, skipping images taken when clouds obscure the ground. ESA is supporting the development of FSSCat by a university and a startup, and agency officials said they're interested in the use of AI for other space applications, such as automated collision avoidance maneuvers. (11/20)

Russia Takes Space Sales Effort Online (Source: Space News)
Glavkosmos has opened a web portal for its satellite and launch services. Glavkosmos, the commercial subsidiary of Roscosmos, said the portal brings together detailed information, including technical specifications, on more than 480 products from more than 75 companies. Glavkosmos Director General Dmitry Loskutov acknowledged that the web portal "is not something revolutionary" but was evidence that the Russian space industry is trying to be more customer-friendly. (11/20)

Gravitational Wave False Reading (Source: Space.com)
A gravitational wave detection that excited astronomers turned out to be a false alarm. Three gravitational wave detectors in the U.S. and Europe detected an unusual signal Nov. 10 that didn't match past signals seen from merging black holes or colliding neutron stars. Searches by other telescopes to try and find the source of the waves came up empty. Scientists said several days later that the signal wasn't real but instead "random bad luck" where a glitch in one detector appeared to match noise in the others. (11/20)

China Satcom Seeks $250M Insurance Payout for Failed ChinaSat Satellite (Source: Space News)
China Satcom filed a $250 million insurance claim for a satellite that malfunctioned after launch earlier this year. The company, in a stock exchange filing Tuesday, said the ChinaSat-18 spacecraft suffered a complete power failure shortly after its Aug. 19 launch on a Long March 3B. The satellite was built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and is the first satellite based on the DFH-4E, an enhanced version of CAST's established DFH-4 platform. The insurance claim adds to a bad year for the space insurance market, which suffered a $415 million claim for a failed Vega launch in July. (11/20)

ESA Calls for Immediate Attention to Space Debris Mitigation (Source: Space News)
The head of the European Space Agency called for immediate action by governments and companies alike to address the space debris issue. In a speech Tuesday, Jan Woerner cited concerns about the megaconstellations and the impact they will have on space debris. Companies launching such systems should ensure each satellite "does not become space debris tomorrow," acting on a moral and ethical basis rather than waiting for regulations. Woerner said he will propose a debris mitigation program that includes in-orbit servicing, active debris removal and active debris avoidance at next week's ESA ministerial meeting. (11/20)

Iran's Space Program Aims to Advance Both Civilian and Military Goals (Source: Space News)
A new report highlights Iran's space program as a means to advance its civilian and military technologies. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) included Iran's space program in a report released Tuesday on the Iranian military. A key concern for the Pentagon is Iran's development of space rockets to test long-range missiles. Iran has a legitimate civilian space program, the DIA concluded, but that space launch vehicles could have dual-use applications as "a testbed for the development of ICBM technologies." (11/20)

Brazil Makes More Moves to Attract US Rockets to Alcantara Spaceport (Source: Space News)
The Brazilian Senate has approved an agreement that could allow American rockets to launch from the country. The Senate approved last week the technology safeguards agreement the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, signed in March during a visit to the United States. Ratification of the agreement means the country can move into its next phase of efforts to attract launch companies to the Alcântara launch site, Marcos Pontes, the country's science and technology minister, said Tuesday. Brazil plans to improve infrastructure at Alcântara over the next year to support launches of small and medium-class rockets. (11/20)

Physicists Just Created the Most Detailed Simulation of the Universe in History (Source: Livescience)
The formation of galaxies is a complex dance between matter and energy, occurring on a stage of cosmic proportions and spanning billions of years. How the diversity of structured and dynamic galaxies we observe today arose from the fiery chaos of the Big Bang remains one of the most difficult unsolved puzzles of cosmology. In search of answers, an international team of scientists has created the most detailed large-scale model of the universe to date, a simulation they call TNG50.

Their virtual universe, some 230 million light-years wide, contains tens of thousands of evolving galaxies with levels of detail previously seen only in single-galaxy models. The simulation tracked more than 20 billion particles representing dark matter, gases, stars and supermassive black holes, over a 13.8-billion-year period. The unprecedented resolution and scale allowed the researchers to gather key insights into our own universe's past, revealing how various oddly shaped galaxies morphed themselves into being and how stellar explosions and black holes triggered this galactic evolution. (11/19)

Sierra Nevada Names Dream Chaser Cargo Module, Updates CRS2 Progress (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
At the Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility, Sierra Nevada Corporation unveiled the name for Dream Chaser’s cargo module element as well as provided an update on the status of the cargo craft as it prepares for its first flight in 2021. Also discussed at the event were potential other applications for Dream Chaser, including but not limited to a Gateway logistics cargo vehicle, a standalone space station, and a crew transportation vehicle.

Today’s update came as Sierra Nevada continues to prepare its cargo version of Dream Chaser for its first voyage to the International Space Station in “Fall 2021,” according to Steve Lindsey – Vice President, Space Exploration Systems Space Systems for Sierra Nevada. The first Dream Chaser flight vehicle is currently undergoing build and outfitting in preparation for its voyage, which will begin with a launch atop a Vulcan-Centaur rocket procured from United Launch Alliance (ULA).

Once at the Kennedy Space Center, the flight worthy Dream Chaser will undergo a final round of testing at the Shuttle Landing Facility, SLF, before being taken to the Space Station Processing Facility where it will be loaded with cargo. After cargo load is complete, the spacecraft will be buttoned up and transferred to Astrotech in Titusville where it will be fueled for launch before being taken to SLC-41 and mated atop the Vulcan-Centaur rocket. (11/19)

US Space Command is Here. Now Where Does it Need to Go? (Source: C4ISRnet)
U.S. Space Command is expected grow by 25 percent in the next two months as the military’s newest combatant command comes into its own, the head of the new organization said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event Nov. 18. It’s been less than three months since U.S. Space Command was reestablished as the United States’ eleventh combatant command at a Rose Garden Ceremony Aug. 29. Now, the organization has taken over responsibility for fighting any potential battle in space from U.S. Strategic Command.

Over the next couple of months, U.S. Space Command is set to grow by 25 percent. Today, the command is made up of about 400 people at headquarters, which Gen. Jay Raymond, the head of the command, expects to increase to about 500 staffers at the beginning of next year. U.S. Space Command wasn’t stood up overnight. Raymond, who serves as head of U.S. Space Command and Air Force Space Command, first heard rumblings the Department of Defense was considering a combatant command for space a full year before that picture perfect ceremony at the White House. (11/18)

Dream Chaser Mini-Shuttle's Re-Entry Will Be Visible as a 'Shooting Star' (Source: Florida Today)
Eagle-eyed skywatchers who just happen to be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 2021 might notice a streak of light dash across their field of view, the result of a cargo module burning up in Earth's atmosphere after a visit to the International Space Station. Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser, a space shuttle-inspired spaceplane that will launch vertically and land horizontally at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, was designed to include a detachable cargo module that will burn up on re-entry with waste and leftovers from the ISS.

At KSC on Tuesday, SNC unveiled the name of that cargo module: Shooting Star. The 15-foot-long, conical cargo capsule will be able to take 10,000 pounds of supplies and science experiments to the ISS when it launches. That's on top of the cargo that will already fly in Dream Chaser itself, which currently is not a human-rated spacecraft and will only be used for supplies. With the cargo module attached, the Dream Chaser system measures at 60 feet in length. Dream Chaser on its own is about 30 feet long. (11/19)

That Starlink Problem Astronomers Were Worried About Is Totally Happening (Source: Discover)
For the modern astronomer, satellites are just a part of life. There are more than 2,000 active ones currently orbiting Earth, and the smartest minds in space photography have managed to work out clever ways of removing the occasional fly over from their images of space. But then there's Starlink. The first stages of SpaceX's plan to launch up to 42,000 satellites to provide Earth with complete internet coverage have clocked in at 122 objects so far; after the first major launch in May, astronomers were worried. Now a second launch has occurred, and their concerns have truly started to materialize.

In the early hours of the morning on November 18 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Northern Chile, the trail of newly launched Starlink satellites flew overhead, absolutely filling an image taken by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). While taking about 40 exposures of the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, SpaceX's Starlink satellite train entered the camera's vision around 90 minutes before sunrise, shining bright in the early morning sunlight and taking a whole five minutes to pass out of the telescope's view. (11/20)

Spaceports Seek Ways to Deal with Public Opposition (Source: Space News)
Commercial spaceports say they need to become more proactive in dealing with public opposition to proposed launch sites through a combination of education and community involvement. In October, a private landowner in Hawaii, W.H. Shipman Ltd., announced it was pulling out of a planned launch site on property it owns near the city of Hilo. The site, to be developed by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation for use by small launch vehicles, faced strong opposition from local residents, who had environmental concerns about the project.

“There was a lot of backlash,” said Mark Lester, president of Alaska Aerospace, during a presentation Nov. 19 at the annual meeting of the Global Spaceport Alliance, a spaceport industry group, here. He said the company had hoped that working with a private landowner would overcome objections that scuttled past spaceport projects on the island on public land.

Hawaii is not the only place where proposed launch sites face public opposition. The FAA is currently finishing an environmental impact statement for a launch site called Spaceport Camden in Camden County, Georgia. Nearby residents oppose the site because of environmental concerns, including what would happen in the event of a launch accident. Spaceport officials announced Nov. 7 that they expect the FAA to complete the report by Dec. 16, with a final decision on whether to award the spaceport a license no more than 30 days later. (11/20)

European Spaceport Boom Could Benefit Industry (Source: Space News)
At least a half a dozen spaceports are under consideration across Europe, something European industrial giants ArianeGroup and OHB say bodes well for the future of launch. Sweden, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Portugal and Norway are discussing establishing spaceports, OHB CEO Marco Fuchs said. “Everybody talks about spaceports,” he said. “I guess it is a sign of excitement.”

Europe’s orbital rockets launch from the Guiana Space Center in France’s South American territory, French Guiana. Fuchs said small launch vehicles that companies like OHB are designing don’t need as much launchpad infrastructure, and can therefore use a larger number of potential spaceports. André-Hubert Roussel, ArianeGroup CEO, the manufacturer of Europe’s heavy lift Ariane 5 and upcoming Ariane 6 rockets, said it is good to consider new spaceports, but cautioned that they are expensive investments.

“I think as Europe, we should really check what we can afford,” he said. “If there are benefits to having additional spaceports, we for sure we should consider them, but not neglecting the already existing base that we have in French Guiana.” Fuchs said additional spaceports would be good, mainly if they are privately financed. “What is obvious is that competition is good,” he said. “If there are more spaceports, it’s better than if there are less spaceports.” (11/19)

National Authority For Remote Sensing & Space Sciences Upgraded To Egypt Space Agency (Source: Space In Africa)
Egypt has upgraded the National Authority for Remote Sensing & Space Sciences (NARSS), its pioneering institute in the field of space technology and Earth observation, to become its principal space agency. In a process that began early last year following the ratification in January 2018 of the law to establish the Egyptian Space Agency, the Egyptian government set out to harmonize its National Space Programme to focus on the development of indigenous space capabilities and commercialization of its capacity. (11/20)

China Quietly Used NASA’s Jupiter Probe to Test its Deep Space Network (Source: Space News)
China used signals sent from NASA’s Juno probe orbiting Jupiter to test the capabilities of ground stations vital to its deep space ambitions. Scientists involved in developing China’s tracking, telemetry and command (TT&C) capabilities listened-in on signals sent from Juno and successfully determined the spacecraft’s Doppler frequency and hence its orbit.

The tests were carried out to assist planning for China’s first independent interplanetary missions, including to Mars in 2020 and launching a probe to Jupiter around 2030. Such missions require to be able to track and communicate with spacecraft over hundreds of millions of kilometers, both sending commands and picking up faint signals that deliver data and telemetry. China used the 35-meter-diameter dish at Kashi station in Xinjiang in the northwest of the country to track Juno. It also has a 66-meter-diameter dish in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang province in the northeast for deep space activities, including the Chang’e lunar missions. (11/20)

'Possibility of Life': Scientists Map Saturn's Exotic Moon Titan (Source: Reuters)
Scientists on Monday unveiled the first global geological map of Saturn’s moon Titan including vast plains and dunes of frozen organic material and lakes of liquid methane, illuminating an exotic world considered a strong candidate in the search for life beyond Earth. The map was based on radar, infrared and other data collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which studied Saturn and its moons from 2004 to 2017. Titan, with a diameter of 3,200 miles (5,150 km), is the solar system’s second-biggest moon behind Jupiter’s Ganymede. It is larger than the planet Mercury.

Organic materials - carbon-based compounds critical for fostering living organisms - play a leading role on Titan. “Organics are very important for the possibility of life on Titan, which many of us think likely would have evolved in the liquid water ocean under Titan’s icy crust,” said planetary geologist Rosaly Lopes. “Organic materials can, we think, penetrate down to the liquid water ocean and this can provide nutrients necessary for life, if it evolved there.” (11/18)

Seeking a Bigger Role for a Big Rocket (Source: Space Review)
NASA continues to emphasize that the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket is an essential part of its plans to return humans to the Moon and go on to Mars. Jeff Foust reports that NASA is getting some criticism in Congress not for the vehicle’s delays but instead because NASA isn’t planning to make greater use of it. Click here. (11/19)
 
My Years Working on Black Programs (Source: Space Review)
While information is gradually being declassified about early reconnaissance satellite programs, there are few first-person accounts from those who worked on them. Robert E. Andrews offers his recollections on working on several such now-declassified programs, dating back to the late 1950s. Click here. (11/19) 
 
Nanoracks Books CubeSat Rideshare and Habitat Demo for Single Falcon 9 (Source: Space Daily)
Nanoracks has booked a launch mission like no other, leveraging the recently announced SpaceX Rideshare program. Onboard a Falcon 9, targeting launch in late 2020, Nanoracks has booked deployment of eight small satellites as well as the Company's first in-space Outpost-demonstration mission. Recently, Nanoracks announced the Company's first in-space Outpost demonstration mission in a letter from CEO Jeffrey Manber. Nanoracks, in collaboration with Maxar, will be building and operating a self-contained hosted payload platform that will demonstrate the robotic cutting of second stage representative tank material on-orbit. (11/19)

Cheers! Alcoholic Beverages in Space (Source: Space Review)
A payload of wine on the latest cargo flight to the International Space Station is only the most recent example of the intersection of spaceflight and alcohol. Chris Carberry explains why there’s likely to be more to come as humanity extends its presence in space. Click here. (11/19) 

Space-Based Radar Suggests North Korean Nuke Equivalent to '17 Hiroshimas' (Source: Space Daily)
North Korea withdrew from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2003. It subsequently developed nuclear weapons, with five underground nuclear tests culminating in a suspected thermonuclear explosion (a hydrogen bomb) on 3 September 2017. Now a team of scientists, led by Dr K. M. Sreejith of the Space Applications Center, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), have used satellite data to augment measurements of tests on the ground. The researchers find that the most recent test shifted the ground by a few meters, and estimate it to be equivalent to 17 times the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. (11/15)

NASA Dropped Plans for Boeing Safety Review (Source: Washington Post)
NASA dropped plans for an extensive safety review of Boeing after concluding it was too expensive. NASA announced last year it would conduct "pretty invasive" safety reviews of Boeing and SpaceX after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk smoked marijuana on a podcast. NASA paid SpaceX $5 million to carry out a full review, but Boeing said such a review would cost $25 million. NASA decided instead on a less thorough audit and smaller number of interviews. (11/19)

Russia Readying Price for NASA Soyuz Seats (Source: TASS)
Roscosmos says it will decide "soon" on NASA's request for additional Soyuz seats. A statement by the agency said it had received a formal request from NASA for additional seats, which NASA seeks as insurance for additional commercial crew delays. Without the seats, NASA runs the risk of losing access to the station next October if commercial crew vehicles are still not yet ready. (11/19)

UCF Gets $600,000 Equipment Grant to Explore Hypersonic Propulsion (Source: UCF)
The Department of Defense has awarded a $600,000 grant to Assistant Professor Kareem Ahmed through its Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Research and Education Program. The funding supports the acquisition of ultrafast advanced laser and camera equipment that will further his research on hypersonics.

The DoD received 175 eligible proposals for equipment or instrumentation funding this year, but only 59 researchers at 44 institutions were selected. The goal of the funding is to accelerate the scientific and engineering research that is critical to the DoD’s national security functions. “This highlights the critical nature of the research being explored and the need for accelerating the research to address the national priority focus on hypersonics,” Ahmed said. (11/19)

Advisory Committee Member Joins NASA (Source: Space Policy Online)
The head of NASA's regulatory and policy advisory committee is joining the agency. Mike Gold will start work today as a special adviser to the NASA administrator for international and legal affairs. Gold, as a Maxar vice president, led the regulatory and policy committee of the NASA Advisory Council, whose work included recommendations regarding extraterrestrial resource extraction and utilization adopted by the full council at its latest meeting. Gold said that, in his new position, he hopes to further that work both nationally and internationally. (11/19)

Hibernating Astronauts Would Need Smaller Spacecraft (Source: Space Daily)
If a sci-fi spaceship does not come with hyperdrive then it is usually fitted with hibernation capsules instead. In movies from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Event Horizon, Alien to Passengers, fictional astronauts get put into 'suspended animation' to cross the vastness of space. Now ESA has investigated how real life crew hibernation would impact space mission design.

Human hibernation has been the subject of initial research within the Discovery element of ESA's Basic Activities, then recommended as a key 'enabling technology' for space by the Agency's Future Technology Advisory Panel, resulting in a dedicated 'Topical Team' on hibernation. Now the Agency's SciSpacE team has called in ESA's Concurrent Design Facility - a multimedia facility enabling expert teams to perform initial evaluations of proposed future missions - to assess the advantages of human hibernation for a trip to a neighbouring planet, such as Mars. (11/19)

To Win the New Space Race, UK Politicians Must Get Serious About Funding (Source: Politics Home)
The UK could yet be a big winner in this new space race, but whether or not this happens will depend on the political choices made today. If we don’t act, then the UK risks standing still as other nations make great leaps forward, says Graham Peters, Chair of UKspace. With polling day looming, the various firms that make up the UK space sector have come together to set out the actions that the next government must take to ensure that we capitalise on a massive global market. Our 2020 Manifesto outlines five key recommendations that would unleash the transformative potential of the UK space sector. (11/20)

Russian Rocket Monitoring System Uses Technology Found in Smart Homes (Source: Sputnik)
The patented method works by collecting information on the status of rocket parts with the help of the Zigbee-based communication protocol. Roscosmos has come up with a system aimed at making sure that all rocketry components and other space systems remain in working order during transportation, a patent issued by Russia's Rospatent intellectual property agency has confirmed. The system is said to use Zigbee, a low-power-consumption wireless communication protocol commonly used in Smart Home applications, to collect medical data, in alarm systems, industrial control systems, etc. (11/19)

NBA Team Uniform Inspired by NASA (Source: NBA)
The NBA's Houston Rockets will pay homage to the city's space heritage with more than just their name this season. The team unveiled a new alternate uniform whose design is inspired by NASA and spaceflight, from the use of a "NASA font" for the names and numbers to designs on the shorts intended "to resemble a rocket launch." The team will wear the uniforms on its Saturday games, starting Nov. 30. (11/19)

Space Command Grows (In Colorado) (Source: Space News)
U.S. Space Command is growing its staff as it prepares to take on new responsibilities. In a speech Monday, Gen. Jay Raymond, head of Space Command, said the headquarters staff for Space Command had grown to 400 people, and should reach 500 by early next year. Raymond said he expects U.S. Space Command to take key steps over the next year, including the development of a "campaign plan for space," the details of which are classified. He said the planning is focused on two key areas: defining the resources the command needs and ensuring it has the legal authorities to carry out operations.

Editor's Note: Despite the likely loss of any large-scale opportunity for capturing a Space Command presence, Florida remains active in efforts to position itself for the Command's growth and potential evolution into a new Space Force. (11/19)

SpaceX Skips Falcon 9 Landing Leg Retraction on Record-Breaking Booster (Source: Teslarati)
Four days after it returned to port, SpaceX quickly brought its latest recovered Falcon 9 booster horizontal, the last step before it can be transported back to one of SpaceX’s launch pad-adjacent processing facilities. For unknown reasons, SpaceX skipped retracting its landing legs, but thanks to its recent reusability record, this particular Falcon 9 booster is now more important than ever.

With recovery operations nearly complete, SpaceX can transport B1048 from Port Canaveral to Cape Canaveral, moving the booster to one of many processing and integration hangars for a thorough inspection and any necessary refurbishment. With any luck, B1048 will be ready for its fifth launch sooner than later, maybe allowing it to support SpaceX’s next dedicated Starlink launch. (11/19)

Europe Optimistic for Increased Space Funding (Source: Space News)
The European Commission is optimistic it will get a budget increase for its space activities. The EC is seeking 16.2 billion euros ($17.9 billion) for space activities from 2021 through 2027, an increase of more than five billion euros over the previous seven-year period. Matthias Petschke, European Commission director for the European Union space program, said there are ongoing discussions at the European Parliament about that funding, but was optimistic those space programs should get most or all of their funding. (11/19)

GAO Sustains Blue Origin Protest on Air Force Launch Procurement (Source: Space News)
The Government Accountability Office sided with Blue Origin in the company's protest of an Air Force launch competition. The GAO said it sustained the protest the company filed regarding the National Security Space Launch phase 2 competition, which claimed the terms of the procurement unduly restrict competition, are ambiguous or are inconsistent with customary commercial practice. GAO sided with the Air Force on other aspects of the protest. The GAO decision is under seal because it contains proprietary company information, but the agency said it is working to make a public version available. The Air Force said it is reviewing the part of the protest sustained by the GAO and "expects to resolve this issue definitively and expeditiously." (11/19)

FCC Backs Public Auction of C-Band Spectrum (Source: Space News)
The chairman of the FCC said Monday he now backs a public auction of satellite C-band spectrum, a decision that could deprive satellite operators of billions of dollars. In a letter to members of Congress, Ajit Pai said he will seek a public auction of 280 megahertz of C-band spectrum for 5G applications, rather than the private auction that satellite operators, under the C-Band Alliance industry group, had proposed. Pai said the proceeds of the public auction would go to the U.S. treasury.

Some members of Congress had opposed the private auction plan that could net satellite companies up to $60 billion, arguing the money should go to the public. The C-Band Alliance had, in recent days, proposed contributing as much as $24 billion to the treasury if it was allowed to run a private auction. The C-Band Alliance criticized the FCC's move in a statement, but said it would "continue to work cooperatively with the FCC to develop an effective alternative plan." Intelsat shares dropped 40% in trading yesterday on the news of the FCC's plan. (11/19)