December 17, 2019

Space Force Like the ‘Birth of a Baby’ (Source: Space News)
The original congressional champions of the Space Force — Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) — are feeling vindicated two years after they came close to passing their bill to establish a Space Corps but lost due to opposition from the Senate, DoD and the Air Force. Despite their legislative victory, Cooper and Rogers said they worry that the Space Force will be vulnerable in its early days when political enemies could try to undermine it.

“This is like the birth of a new baby,” said Cooper. “Its mother is the Air Force for some time. But this child will grow up to be independent. It is just going to take some time.” Rogers agreed. “There is political pressure to not birth this baby. Some people have been trying to kill this baby in the womb for the last three years. I believe there’s going to be some who want to see it die in the crib over the next three years. We’re not going to let that happen.” (12/17)

Software Glitch Delays Soyuz Launch From South American Spaceport (Source: ABC News)
A software glitch postponed a Soyuz launch from French Guiana early this morning. Arianespace announced the launch of the Soyuz rocket was scrubbed about 90 minutes before the scheduled 3:54 a.m. Eastern liftoff because of a software error in the rocket's Fregat upper stage. The problem will delay the launch at least a day, although officials didn't immediately announce a new liftoff time. The rocket is carrying the first of a new generation of COSMO-Skymed radar imaging satellites, ESA's CHEOPS exoplanet science satellite and three smaller payloads. (12/17)

Spending Bill Gives DoD Less Than Requested for Space Force (Source: Space News)
A fiscal year 2020 spending bill released Monday provides only a little more than half the requested funding for the new Space Force. The bill includes $40 million in operations and maintenance funds for the U.S. Space Force, a steep cut from the $72.4 million that the Trump administration requested. The bill and accompanying report didn't go into details about the cut. Appropriators also reduced the administration’s funding request for the Space Development Agency, with $30.5 million for operations and maintenance, $14.2 million less than requested. (12/17)

Satellite Uncovers Ohio Gas Well Blowout's Massive Methane Leak (Source: Axios)
A 2018 explosion at a natural gas well owned by an ExxonMobil subsidiary emitted more methane into the atmosphere than some countries do in a year, a new study using satellite data has found. Why it matters: It's the first time methane from an oil or gas incident has been detected and quantified using data gathered by satellite. The study shows space technology could become a key tool in detecting leaks of methane — one of the most potent greenhouse gases. (12/17)

Spending Bill Gives NASA Less Than Needed for Lunar Ops (Source: Space News)
The spending bill gives NASA $22.6 billion in 2020, but doesn't provide the agency all the funding it sought for a lunar lander. The bill includes full funding for many elements of the agency's exploration plans, but offered just $600 million for advanced cislunar and surface capabilities, which covers work on human-rated lunar landers. NASA sought $1 billion for lander development in an amendment to its budget proposal released in May. The bill funds several Earth science and astrophysics missions the budget request sought to terminate, as well as NASA's education office. It only provides $15 million for low Earth orbit commercialization efforts, versus a request of $150 million. (12/17)

SpaceX Launches Comsat, Lands Booster, Misses Fairings (Source: Space News)
SpaceX successfully launched a communications satellite Monday that will serve two customers. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 7:10 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and 33 minutes later placed the JCSAT-18/Kacific-1 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. JCSAT-18/Kacific-1 is a 6,800-kilogram "condosat" built by Boeing, with payloads for Japanese operator Sky Perfect JSAT and Singaporean startup Kacific. The Falcon 9's first stage, making its third flight, landed on a droneship downrange, but two other ships were unable to catch the rocket's payload fairing. (12/17)

OmegA Customer Seeks Its Own Customers (Source: Space News)
The customer for the first launch of Northrop Grumman's OmegA rocket is looking for a customer of its own. Saturn Satellite Networks announced last week it would launch one or two of its NationSat small GEO satellites on the first OmegA launch in 2021. Saturn doesn't have customers for the satellites that would fly on that mission, but said the launch agreement allows it to offer delivery-in-orbit options for potential customers. Saturn's first NationSat satellite, for Moscow-based Intersputnik, is slated to launch on a shared SpaceX Falcon 9 mission that has slipped from 2020 to 2021. (12/17)

Capella Plans to Add Seven SAR Satellites in 2020 (Source: Space News)
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) startup Capella says it will launch seven satellites next year. The company, which launched a demonstration satellite a year ago, said Monday it will launch its next satellite, Sequoia, on a Falcon 9 in March, followed by three more on an Indian PSLV in mid-2020 and another three late in the year on a launch yet to be booked. The new satellites will be an updated, larger design weighing 100 kilograms each to accommodate a bigger SAR payload capable of producing images with a resolution of 50 centimeters. Those satellites will enable the company to start commercial operations next year. (12/17)

New Zealand Bars Certain Satellites From Launch (Source: New Zealand Herald)
The government of New Zealand is updating the rules on what kinds of satellites can be launched from the country. The new rules prohibit the launch of satellites that support nuclear weapons programs, serve as space weapons or other military uses contrary to government policy, or cause "serious or irreversible" harm to the environment. The government noted that the rules would not have affected prior approvals of satellites launched on Rocket Lab's 10 Electron missions to date, which have included satellites for U.S. military agencies. Rocket Lab said the updated guidelines are in alignment with its own policies regarding the safe and responsible use of space. (12/17)

Russia Could Slip ISS Module Launch to 2021 (Source: TASS)
The head of Roscosmos hinted at another delay in the launch of an International Space Station module. Dmitry Rogozin said Monday the Nauka multipurpose lab module will be shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in early 2020 for final tests before a launch in late 2020 or early 2021. Roscosmos previously stated that Nauka would launch in November 2020. The module has suffered years of delays because of technical problems during its development, such as contamination of its propulsion system. (12/17)

Japan to Launch Spy Satellite in January (Source: Kyodo)
Japan will launch a new reconnaissance satellite in January. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Monday an optical Intelligence Gathering Satellite will launch on an H-2A rocket Jan. 27. The satellite will join seven others that provide optical and radar imagery for Japan's military. (12/17)

FAA Delays Georgia Spaceport License Decision (Source: Brunswick News)
The Federal Aviation Administration had delayed a decision on a spaceport license for a proposed Georgia launch site. The FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation had been expected to publish Monday an environmental-impact statement for Spaceport Camden, but said its release was delayed and did not set a new date when it expected it would be available. The report is the final milestone before the FAA rules on the application for the proposed launch site, located near the Atlantic coast in Camden County. Some residents oppose the launch site because of concerns about its environmental effects, particularly in the event of a launch failure. (12/17)

Georgia's Spaceport Camden: Day 1631 (Source: Spaceport Facts
On June 4, 2015, The Brunswick News reported, “[County Administrator Steve] Howard said the agreement enables the county to begin the 18-month process of Federal Aviation Administration environmental assessments, public hearings, and meetings." Eighteen months ended on December 4, 2016. It’s been missed deadline after missed deadline ever since. The same story reports that the County presented a study estimating “a spaceport would create 2,500 high-tech jobs in the county.”

For four-and-a-half years, Camden persists in spending tens of thousands every month. How much will this last-second submission of “additional application materials from the applicant - Camden County, Georgia” cost Camden taxpayers? The FAA is complicit because it seems they cannot allow Camden County to fail. Though their regulations say otherwise, they seem determined to find some way to launch a rocket --- any rocket --- even a fictional one --- from Spaceport Camden. (12/17)

FAA Commercial Space Activities Get Mixed News in Final FY2020 Appropriations (Source: Space Policy Online)
The final version of the FY2020 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill has mixed news for FAA’s commercial space transportation activities. The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) got a slight increase over the request, but the two other components of the FAA’s commercial space portfolio received substantial cuts from requested levels. All in all, instead of the $64.6 million requested, Congress approved $51.54 million.

With the burgeoning number of companies developing space launch systems and conducting launches, the FAA has been trying for years to get more funding to pay for more personnel to efficiently manage applications for licenses and permits. All those launches and reentries can be trying for the Air Traffic Control system as airplanes must be diverted from their regular routes near launch and reentry sites, which also are growing. The FAA is developing a Commercial Space Integrator tool, also called a Space Data Integrator, to reduce the amount of time the airspace must be closed.

The third element of the FAA’s commercial space activities is a Center of Excellence to support integration of launch and reentry into the NAS, advanced safety assessment methods, advanced vehicle safety methodologies, and human spaceflight safety. For this part of the Research, Engineering & Development (RE&D) account, the request was $5.971 million, but Congress approved only $2.5 million, the same as FY2019. (12/17)

Russia's Space Chief Investigated by Journalists for Hidden Finances (Source: Навальный)
The salary of the head of "Roskosmos" Dmitry Rogozin significantly exceeds the income of the head of NASA, but the success of the department, alas, no. So why does Rogozin receive a cosmic salary, about which the department’s leadership is also brazenly lying? The difference in the salary of an ordinary employee of Roskosmos and Dmitry Rogozin is 32.6 times. Click here. (12/16)

NASA Gets OK to Assemble QueSST Supersonic Jet (Source: NASA)
NASA’s first large scale, piloted X-plane in more than three decades is cleared for final assembly and integration of its systems following a major project review by senior managers held Thursday at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The management review, known as Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D), was the last programmatic hurdle for the X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft to clear before officials meet again in late 2020 to approve the airplane’s first flight in 2021. (12/17)