January 1, 2020

2020 is Decision Time for National Security Space Launch (Source: Space News)
The stakes could not be higher for the big four of the launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — that have submitted bids in hopes to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. ULA, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman are pitching newly designed vehicles for the competition, all projected to fly for the first time in 2021. “That means we’ll be doing final development and production of first-flight hardware in 2020,” said Col. Robert Bongiovi, director of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s launch enterprise. (12/30)

Maxar Surges on $770 Million Deal to Sell MDA to Investment Firm (Source: Bloomberg)
Maxar Technologies Inc. rallied after it agreed to sell its Canadian space and defense unit MDA to a consortium led by Northern Private Capital for C$1 billion ($770 million) to help pay down debt and prioritize investments in core businesses. The sale includes all of MDA’s Canadian businesses, including ground stations, radio satellite products, robotics, defense and satellite components, and represents 1,900 employees, the Westminster, Colorado-based company said Monday in a statement.

Shares of Maxar jumped as much as 23% Monday, to the highest since November 2018. The deal value is “reasonable” and will allow the company to focus on its core imagery business, said Stephanie Price, an analyst at CIBC, in a research report. MDA will operate as a standalone company within the portfolio of Toronto-based Northern Private Capital, retaining its name, and will continue to supply Maxar with certain components and subsystems. MDA was the builder of Canadarm2, the robotic arm that has served the International Space Station since 2001, according to the Canadian Space Agency. (12/30)

New US Space Force Hub Renamed ‘SPOC’ (Source: Military.com)
The 14th Air Force, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, has been renamed. It will now live long and prosper as Space Operations Command, or SPOC, according to a recent service announcement. The change was made in accordance with the transition from Air Force Space Command to the U.S. Space Force, effective Dec. 20 when President Donald Trump signed the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), establishing Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military.

"Every day, all around the planet, people count on us to make a difference -- to provide a space-enabled combat edge to the warfighters that keep our country, our allies, and our partners safe. We will not let them down," Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, commander of the newly redesignated SPOC, said in the release. Shaw is also U.S. Space Command's Combined Force Space Component Commander. SPOC will assume the majority of the mission previously held by the 14th Air Force, including operational command and control. (12/31)

Around the World, Countries Are Racing to the Moon (Source: Discover)
From crash landings to out-of-this-world cotton, 2019 was a big year for lunar exploration. Previously, only the U.S., Russia and China had managed to land successfully on the moon. But now other national space agencies are charging ahead with their own science goals, and private companies of all sizes are finding ways to join in. Not to be left out, NASA is renewing its own plans for lunar exploration. The result has been a year of lunar successes and failures — and lots of big talk — with final outcomes still very much up in the air. Click here. (12/31)

Is This Icy Moon Our Best Chance to Find Alien Life? (Source: Daily Beast)
Scientists increasingly believe there’s life beyond Earth. For many of them, the main question now is where we should be looking. Our neighbor Mars, with its signs of a water-rich distant past? Europa, that icy brown moon of Jupiter that might contain a subsurface ocean? A few astronomers even point to Venus, which today is hellishly hot and dry but a billion years ago might have looked a lot like Earth.

Some scientists think we should be looking even farther—to Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. There’s growing evidence that the tiny, bright moon, just 310 miles in diameter, hides a roiling saltwater ocean. One that could support microbial life. It’s not for no reason that NASA calls Enceladus “one of the solar system’s most scientifically interesting destinations.” ... “Enceladus has become a promising lead in our search for worlds where life could exist,” the space agency stated on its website.

But getting there to make a thorough search for alien life is proving difficult. Mars is much closer. Europa is already the target of an upcoming probe mission. And Earth’s moon, with its potentially trillions of dollars worth of minerals, looms over everything as the ultimate distraction from the search for E.T. The lure of closer and more commercial celestial bodies helps to explain why there are no missions to Enceladus in the works. (1/1)

Georgia County Changes Course, Wants to Launch Small Rockets From Spaceport (Source: First Coast News)
The Space Coast has had a monopoly on launching rockets for 50 years. Now, there’s no guarantee that Camden County can get in on the space game. The county has asked the federal government for more time to review its application to launch rockets from a proposed spaceport. The FAA wrote a letter to the county saying there are still some concerns that need to be addressed. People that have lived on the island say the risks of having a spaceport outweigh any potential benefits.

People like Jim Renner who own land or live on Cumberland Island or Little Cumberland Island have an interest in the spaceport. Renner says he’s concerned about residents that will live miles away from the proposed launch site. “You don’t launch rockets over a national park, Cumberland Island National Seashore," Renner said. "Would you launch rockets over Yosemite? This is our Yosemite. You also don’t launch rockets over private property."

Renner’s concern is growing as the launch operation license for the spaceport is in limbo. Two days before the FAA’s deadline to make a decision, the county asked for more time saying it wants to launch small scale rockets instead of large ones. The FAA agreed but wrote there are still major issues. In a letter, the FAA said a launch accident could cause an uncontrollable fire on the island, adding that access for firefighting and egress from the island for evacuation are limited. (12/31)

China Could Follow South China Sea Strategy in Seeking Space Resources (Source: Parabolic Arc)
China’s actions in asserting sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea could serve as a model by which that nation would claim extraterrestrial resources and consolidate its control over key space assets, a new report to the U.S. Congress warned. “Contrary to international norms governing the exploration and commercial exploitation of space, statements from senior Chinese officials signal Beijing’s belief in its right to claim use of space-based resources in the absence of a clear legal framework specifically regulating mining in space,” according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission’s 2019 report.

“Reflecting a sense of urgency in establishing its national interests in space, in 2015 Ye Peijian, the head of China’s lunar exploration program, likened the moon and Mars to the Senkaku Islands and the Spratly Islands, respectively, and warned not exploring them may result in the usurpation of China’s ‘space rights and interests’ by others,” the document added.

The Senkaku Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan that are also claimed by China and Taiwan. The islands are close to busy shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds. There might also be extensive offshore oil deposits near the islands. The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea composed of approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals. The islands are occupied by military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Brunei also claims an exclusive economic zone. (12/31)

NASA Will Try Out An Instrument Designed To Make Oxygen On Mars (Source: NPR)
The next Mars mission will have an instrument that can make oxygen from the carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere. It will be crucial for keeping astronauts alive and for fueling rockets. Click here. (1/1)

Virgin Orbit Plans Orbital Launch in Early 2020 (Source: Space News)
After falling short of plans to begin launches in 2019, Virgin Orbit now expects to perform its first orbital launch attempt in early 2020, a key year for the burgeoning small launch vehicle industry. In a Dec. 19 statement, Virgin Orbit says it is now in position to perform an “imminent orbital demo flight” some time in early 2020 as it completes rehearsals of launch preparations at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. (12/31)

India Approves Third Moon Mission, Months After Landing Failure (Source: Reuters)
India has approved its third lunar mission months after its last one failed to successfully land on the moon, its space agency said on Wednesday, the latest effort in its ambitions to become a low-cost space power. The Chandrayaan-3 mission will have a lander and a rover, but not an orbiter, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan told reporters at its headquarters in Bengaluru, according to an official telecast. (1/1)

India Picks Four Astronauts for Gaganyaan Mission (Source: The Statesman)
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Wednesday informed that the training of astronauts for the ambitious manned mission ‘Gaganyaan’ will commence from the third week of January in Russia. ISRO chief K Sivan said that four astronauts have been identified for the mission adding that the training of astronauts will start from third week of this month in Russia. He further said that the Government has approved Chandrayaan-3 and that work related to Chandrayaan-3 and ‘Gaganyaan’ was going on simultaneously. (1/1)

Florida Counties Eyeing Space Force (Source: Tampa Bay Business Journal)
Florida hasn’t given up on landing the command center for the nation’s newest military branch, Space Force. Dale Ketcham, Space Florida’s vice president of government and external relations, said Florida is “still competing” for the headquarters for the new branch, which will have an initial job of protecting satellites and other hardware already in space.

A $738 billion defense spending bill President Donald Trump signed on Dec. 20 includes $148 million to build a Combined Space Operations Facility at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. But the Schriever facility is not considered the permanent location for the headquarters. "California, Alabama are in the mix. Florida is still competing. Louisiana, Virginia, Texas and some other are hoping to land this,” Ketcham said during an interview Saturday on Fox News. “The important thing is, where is the best place to put it for the long-term national interest.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis this year has pitched Trump on Florida for the Space Force command. He has tied the new branch with the space industry around Cape Canaveral, which has seen a slow resurgence as private companies --- spurred by a space race among billionaires --- look to reduce costs by manufacturing launch vehicles close to the launch pads. Space Florida, which works to bolster the state’s space industry, is chaired by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez. (12/31)

Air Force Space Policy Guru Loverro Tackles NASA Human Spaceflight (Source: Aviation Week)
Like many children growing up during the Apollo Moon progrm, Douglas Lovarro wanted to become an astronaut. He ended up on a different path, developing and managing Air Force and NRO space programs. After 45 years of government service, Loverro in 2017 became a private consultant, then he started working at NASA.

"I could not have passed this up...The things we do in space affect the entire world." Three human spaceflight programs in development for a decade are scheduled to reach critical milestones in the next few months. Overall, NASA's human spaceflight programs account for about haf of the agency's current $21 billion annual budget. (12/23)

Rocket Lab, Wallops Island Spaceport Expect Big US Launch Growth (Source: Aviation Week)
Rocket Lab looks set to launch as many as a dozen small-satallite payloads a year into low Earth orbit for the US Government starting in early 2020--including on short notice--as the Electron rocket maker unveils its inaugural launch plans from its new spaceport home. Officials confirmed the inaugural mission from Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at Wallops Island in the spring.

Rocket Lab selected MARS about a year ago due to the wide orbital inclinations the site can support as well as the accelerated construction time frame. More than 150 local construction workers and contractors were involved, with many Virginia-based companies supplying services, hardware and materials. Electrons launched from MARS will be built in California. In addition to the launch pad, MARS will also be home to Rocket Lab's integration and control facility. (12/23)