November 8, 2019

All Four RS-25 Shuttle Veterans Installed Into SLS Core Stage (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
In a major milestone for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), all four RS-25 engines – veterans of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) – have been installed into the core stage of the rocket that will conduct the maiden flight of NASA’s new monster rocket on the Artemis-1 mission. SLS will use the full inventory of flight-proven Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSMEs), or RS-25Ds, before exhausting the stock and moving to the RS-25E. (11/8)

Suitcase-Sized Asteroid Explorer (Source: ESA)
This replica model of ESA’s ‘Miniaturised Asteroid Remote Geophysical Observer’, or M-Argo, was on display at the Agency’s recent Antennas workshop. It is the one of numerous small missions planned as part of ESA’s Technology Strategy, being presented at this month’s Space19+ Council at Ministerial Level. This is a suitcase-sized nanospacecraft based on the CubeSat design employing standardised 10 cm cubic units within which electronic boards can be stacked and subsystems attached. M-Argo is a 12-unit CubeSat – with a 22 x 22 x 34 cm body – that would hitch a ride on the launch of a larger space mission whose trajectory takes it beyond Earth orbit, such as astronomy missions to a Sun–Earth Lagrange point. (7/11)

OneWeb’s First Big Deployment Launch Slips To January (Source: Space News)
OneWeb has delayed the beginning of its regular launch campaign by a month to allow more testing of its small broadband satellites. “We are taking the utmost care to prepare for launch and therefore are taking a few extra weeks to conduct additional tests on the satellites which will be shipped in December for launch,” OneWeb said in a statement to SpaceNews. “We are targeting our next launch for mid-to-late January and remain on track for monthly launches thereafter and to begin service in the Arctic in late 2020 and global coverage in 2021.”

OneWeb spokeswoman Katie Dowd said by email that the company will be launching at least 30 satellites with each Soyuz mission. She declined to specify exactly how many will launch on the January mission. OneWeb launched its first six satellites in February on a Soyuz rocket through European launch provider Arianespace. That launch was delayed for more than six months, largely to allow for additional satellite testing. (11/8)

NASA Does Not Deny the “over $2 Billion” Cost of a Single SLS Launch (Source: Ars Technica)
For the first time, a government cost estimate of building and flying a single Space Launch System rocket in a given year has been released. This estimate of "over $2 billion" came in the form of a letter from the White House to the Senate Appropriations Committee. In the nearly decade-long development of the SLS rocket, NASA officials have studiously avoided providing a so-called "production and operations" cost. This is partly because it can be difficult to estimate flight costs during development, but also very likely because doing so might give lawmakers who have backed the project some measure of sticker shock.

A fully expendable version of the Falcon Heavy rocket, which has two-thirds of the lift capacity of a Block 1 version of the SLS rocket, can be bought today for $150 million. After publication of the White House letter, the agency did not deny the estimate that producing and flying one SLS rocket in a given year—which is the production capacity core stage contractor Boeing may be able to reach by the early 2020s—will be more than $2 billion. The first SLS launch could come in 2021. (11/8)

The FAA's Challenge to Accommodate the Commercial Spaceflight Boom (Source: Politico)
America is enjoying the economic and social benefits of dramatic advances in two critical industries: air and space transportation. Commercial space transportation is demonstrating the long-awaited potential of higher flight rates, lower operating costs, and diversity in capability—all of which are helping to expand the spaceflight industry. But increased airspace activities means that the FAA’s ability to manage diverse users in a finite amount of airspace must dramatically change .

The FAA currently segregates large amounts of airspace, sometimes for long periods of time, for commercial space launch-and-recovery operations to ensure the safety of the flying public and personnel on the ground. Segregating too much airspace for too long could potentially lead to major aviation schedule disruptions and inefficient use of airspace. The FAA must invest now in developing new air traffic management tools for managing the airspace around space transportation activities. And safety is absolutely necessary but does not have to come at the cost of efficiency.

The status quo cannot continue and the private sector must help the FAA innovate to minimize any negative impacts of the growing commercial aviation and space industries. Ultimately, that will require some degree of integration of spaceflight into the national airspace system, while recognizing that spaceflight is different from aviation. (11/8)

NASA's Coating Technology Could Help Resolve Lunar Dust Challenge (Source: Space Daily)
An advanced coating now being tested aboard the International Space Station for use on satellite components could also help NASA solve one of its thorniest challenges: how to keep the Moon's irregularly shaped, razor-sharp dust grains from adhering to virtually everything they touch, including astronauts' spacesuits.

Although the coating wasn't originally conceived for lunar dust busting, "it's compelling for this application," said Bill Farrell, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who heads a NASA-sponsored research organization, Dynamic Response of the Environments at Asteroids, the Moon, and moons of Mars, or DREAM2, which studies the lunar and Martian environments. The agency considers lunar dust to be among the top challenges to mitigate as it aims to establish sustainable exploration of the Moon by 2028 under its Artemis Program. (11/6)

Iran to Launch Three Domestically-made Satellites in Near Future (Source: Sputnik)
In October, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi said that Iran intended to send an astronaut into space, adding that Tehran would hold talks with Russia on the issue as foreign assistance would be needed. The head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Morteza Barari has announced that Iran plans to launch three satellites in the near future.

"Following the implementation of the country's second decade-long space development program, three satellites are being developed to be ultimately put into orbit," Barari, who is also Iran's Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technology, said on Sunday. According to the senior official, the newly emerging space technology field has grown by 139 percent in 10 years, leading to "major" developments in the country's economy. (11/5)

Russia: US Refuses to Discuss Russian-Chinese Idea Against Space Militarization (Source: Sputnik)
The United States has been refusing to launch negotiations on the initiative of Russia and China on preventing an arms race in space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. "The United States remains practically the only side that refuses to launch discussions on the initiative introduced by Russia and China at the Conference on Disarmament and Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space," Lavrov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel late on Friday.

Moscow and Beijing have offered to draft a binding international document that would outline guarantees that no weapons would be placed in orbit around the Earth and would include measures to prevent an arms race in space. Lavrov noted that for nearly 20 years, Russia has been working on the creation of a verification mechanism for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) but the United States had been blocking the creation of such mechanism. (11/5)

Paragon Wins $2M Contract Under NASA Tipping Point Program (Source: Space News)
Paragon Space Development Corp. was awarded a new contract as part of NASA's Tipping Point Program. Th $2 million contract concerns the Shape Memory Alloys for Regulating Thermal control systems in Space (SMARTS) radiator. SMARTS promises the high thermal turndown and low mass that is needed to enable operations in the extreme range of environments that NASA and commercial space entities plan to explore.

Paragon will be leading an experienced team supported by Boeing, Texas A and M, NASA's Glenn Research Center, and NASA Johnson Space Center to develop a thermal control system for lunar missions that maintains acceptable operating temperatures throughout the Moon's day and night cycle. The design of this system could be adapted for crewed missions to Mars. (11/6)

Space Coast Apprenticeship Consortium to Host National Apprenticeship Week Event in Titusville (Source: SCCAP)
As part of National Apprenticeship Week, the Space Coast Apprenticeship Consortium will be hosting a Space Coast Consortium Open House and Networking Event from 5:30 – 7:15 pm on Thursday, November 14, 2019. The event will take place at the Knight’s Armament Function Hall in Titusville, Florida. Parents, students, community stakeholders, local dignitaries and the press are invited to attend this open house event. This event is open first-come, first-serve until we reach our maximum capacity of 100 people. (11/7)

FOMS Produces Optical Fibers on ISS (Source: Space News)
A company said it's had success producing high-quality optical fibers on the ISS. Fiber Optic Manufacturing in Space (FOMS) said Thursday experiments flown on the station earlier this year showed that its equipment, using a material called ZBLAN, could produce better fibers in microgravity than on the ground. FOMS is one of three companies working on producing such ZBLAN fibers in microgravity, a product some think could be a "killer app" for in-space manufacturing. (11/7)

Heart Cells Work Different in Space (Source: Space.com)
Human heart cells function differently in microgravity. Research performed on the ISS examined how human heart cells adapted to the lack of gravity. Scientists found that the cells quickly changed their beating pattern and how they recycled calcium. The cells returned to normal patterns 10 days after returning to Earth. Scientists said they were surprised how quickly the heart cells adapted to the microgravity environment, which could aid research for improving astronaut health on long-duration missions. (11/7)

DIA Expects Russian or Chinese Anti-Satellite Aggression (Source: Space News)
The head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) says it's only a matter of time before China or Russia use anti-satellite weapons against U.S. assets. Army Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of DIA, ran through a list of capabilities, including surface-to-air missiles, lasers, electronic jammers, co-orbital maneuvering satellites and malware, that Russia and China have developed and continue to advance in a conference speech Thursday. Ashley said that this "rather negative picture" is something the space industry and the public at large cannot ignore, which is why the Defense Department has been pushing to make more unclassified information available about these ASAT capabilities. (11/7)

Boeing: Misplaced Pin Doomed Parachute Deployment (Source: Space News)
Boeing says a misplaced pin prevented one of three parachutes from deploying during a pad abort test of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle Monday. In a call with reporters Thursday, Boeing said a pin connecting a pilot parachute with a main parachute was not properly installed, preventing the pilot chute from deploying the main one. Technicians have already worked to confirm that similar pins are properly installed on the parachutes in the Starliner scheduled to launch an uncrewed test flight next month. Boeing said an initial review of the data from that test confirmed that all other aspects of the flight went as planned. (11/7)

Ursa Raises $15 Million for Space Imagery Data Products (Source: Space News)
Geospatial analytics company Ursa Space Systems has raised a $15 million Series B round. The company says it will use the funding, in a round led by Razor's Edge Ventures, to develop new data products. Ursa uses synthetic aperture radar imagery to produce a variety of data products, and is seeing new interest from areas like supply chain management, logistics and insurance. (11/7)

Vega Returns to Flight in Early 2020 (Source: Space News)
Avio expects the Vega small launch vehicle to return to flight by March. In an earnings call Thursday, Avio CEO Giulio Ranzo said the payload for that launch, the first since a July launch failure, is still being determined. Ranzo said the first launch of the upgraded Vega C rocket, previously planned for March, is now expected some time in the first half of 2020. Avio expects that the ESA ministerial meeting later this month will approve programs to improve the competitiveness of the rocket, such as technologies to reduce the cost of the vehicle. (11/7)

SpaceX's Next Starlink Launch Will Make it One of the Top Satellite Operators in the World (Source: Florida Today)
SpaceX will expand on its well-known telecommunications ambitions Monday with the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, but the company will also quietly cross a significant threshold and become the second-largest satellite operator in the world — on top of its already dominant position as a launch provider.

The 9:55 a.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 40 will take 60 more of the company’s Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit as part of the program designed to beam internet connectivity down to the ground, pushing the constellation’s total size to 120 after a debut launch in May. That will put it above heavyweights like NASA, the Air Force, and Iridium when it comes to the sheer number of spacecraft on orbit.

SpaceX plans on putting thousands of its own Starlink spacecraft into orbit – possibly up to 40,000 and beyond – then continually refreshing the constellation as some are lost to orbital decay. Despite the challenges and high costs with deploying a system of this magnitude, CEO Elon Musk sees it as a way to pay for his company’s future deep-space initiatives, like the Starship vehicle and Super Heavy booster. He also hopes it increases internet connectivity to underserved regions of the world. (11/8)

Kennedy Space Center Awarded a "Purple Heart" for Support of Veterans (Source: Florida Today)
On Thursday, Kennedy Space Center was the first NASA facility in the country to be named a "Purple Heart Entity" in a ceremony held at the KSC Training Auditorium. “Being the first Purple Heart space center, it’s such an honor,” KSC Associate Director Kelvin Manning said before a packed auditorium that included 20 Purple Heart winners in the audience. KSC was given the honor by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a congressionally chartered veterans group comprised solely of men and women who are combat wounded veterans. (11/7)