January 28, 2020

Cabana: Space Coast Future is Bright (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The dawn of a new decade brings great excitement and urgency to America’s space program. With a pace only seen in the Apollo era, NASA is forging ahead with our greatest endeavor since the space shuttle days. This is the decade when human spaceflight returns to Florida. Through NASA’s Artemis program, we will see the first woman and next man land on the moon by 2024. And what we learn on the moon will lead to America’s next giant leap —human exploration of Mars. The moon is a natural stepping stone to Mars, where we will demonstrate new technologies, perfect capabilities, and learn what is needed to send astronauts to the Red Planet.

KSC continues to be the launching point of NASA’s future space exploration. In addition to supporting the Artemis program, Kennedy is home to the Commercial Crew Program, which in the coming months will return the capability to launch astronauts to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station from America through expanded relationships with commercial partners. The aerospace industry has rebounded with foundational partners like Boeing and Northrop Grumman occupying space at the Kennedy Space Center and welcoming newer partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The Space Coast is back, and the economic boost is being felt far beyond the 321 area code.

For the first time since the shuttle program ended, the workforce at KSC is more than 10,000 strong. This includes people with specialized skills, dedicated to supporting the nation’s space program and NASA’s future exploration of the moon and going on to Mars through the Artemis program. The most recent data calculating the economic impact of spaceport operations in Florida are significant. According to a 2017 NASA study, spaceport operations had a total economic impact of nearly $4 billion on Florida’s economy, and for every 10 direct jobs at KSC an average of 13 jobs are created within the state. The study shows that operations at the spaceport generated more than $2 billion for Florida’s gross domestic product. (1/25)

DARPA Scraps 'Phantom Express' Space Plane Project After Boeing Withdraws (Source: Sputnik)
The US military had selected Boeing to enter into a collaborative venture to construct an Experimental Spaceplane called Phantom Express. The project, however, began to wane before being cancelled altogether. DARPA has scrapped its proposed military spaceplane on Thursday after Boeing withdrew from the Experimental Spaceplane (XSP) program, which intended to expand the nation's capabilities in space. The vehicle was originally named Phantom Express, an eerily appropriate name given that the the project will now never exist in material form. (1/27)

Bridenstine Concerned About NASA Authorization Bill (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Monday he had concerns with aspects of a NASA authorization bill recently introduced in the House. In a statement, Bridenstine said the House bill's plan to develop a human lunar lander as a government-directed approach "imposes some significant constraints on our approach to lunar exploration." The Commercial Spaceflight Federation offered stronger criticism of that portion of the bill, saying it "explicitly and unfairly excludes" participation by the commercial spaceflight industry and calling for the bill to be withdrawn. Bridenstine said he wanted to work with House members on alternative language that would support NASA's use of partnerships. Other industry groups offered support for the bill or declined to take a strong position on it. (1/28)

FCC Action Pending on OneWeb Constellation Expansion (Source: Space News)
A senator is asking the FCC to take action on a OneWeb request to expand its satellite constellation. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) requested in a letter to the FCC that the agency approve a request by OneWeb submitted in 2018 to add 1,260 satellites to its existing authorization for a 720-satellite constellation. The company says it needs to start making arrangements soon for launching those additional satellites after 2021, when the initial constellation will be complete. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a response to Kaine, said the FCC was continuing to review OneWeb's request, including how it would affect other satellite systems. (1/28)

QinetiQ to Build Ozone Satellite for ESA (Source: Space News)
QinetiQ will build an ozone-monitoring satellite for the European Space Agency. QinetiQ will build Altius, the Atmospheric Limb Tracker for Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere, at its new cleanroom in Kruibeke, Belgium, the company announced Monday. The 270-kilogram satellite will launch in 2023. QinetiQ said its contract for Altius is valued at $82 million. (1/28)

Satellite Capabilities Key to US Military Operations Regarding Iran (Source: Space News)
Tensions between the United States and Iran illustrate the key role played by satellites in U.S. military operations. The U.S. military drone strikes that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3 and Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attack on U.S. bases in Iraq a few days later were a stark illustration of the critical role of satellites. That included U.S. early warning spacecraft that detect the heat signature generated by the Iranian missile launch and alerted operators on the ground. (1/28)

Air Force Budget Request Includes Space Focus (Source: Air Force Magazine)
As usual, the Air Force budget will be a tightrope walk between “readiness, capacity, and risk,” Goldfein said. There are four major themes underlying the Air Force’s fiscal ’21 budget proposal, he said. They are: Inter-service connectivity for “the joint fight”; Investment in space operational capability; Investment in stand-in and standoff capabilities; and Investment in logistics.

Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said the US has to be able to deter an adversary from attacking it in space. “They need to know you can punch back,” he said, noting the new budget will discourage an adversary from even trying such a strategy. The US will have “exponential” new space defense capability. It will also have a larger and more resilient space network, making an attack against it a pointless endeavor, Goldfein said. Simulations show that when war starts in space “everybody loses … They have to know they can’t win if they go there.” (1/27)

Imagery Suggests Iran Is Preparing To Try To Launch A Satellite (Source: NPR)
New imagery from commercial satellites that was shared with NPR suggests Iran is making repairs and preparing for a space launch, following a recent string of failed attempts. The imagery, taken Sunday by the commercial firm Planet and shared via the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, shows vehicles parked at a building used to assemble Iran's space rockets at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in northern Iran.

A second group of vehicles is visible at a circular launch pad that was heavily damaged during failed launch preparations last year. "It looks pretty clearly to us like Iran is going to try and put a satellite into space," says Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute who tracks Iran's space program. (1/27)

ISISPACE Joins Orbital Transports Partner Network (Source: Orbital Transports)
Orbital Transports, Inc., a space logistics company, announced its partnership with ISIS – Innovative Solutions in Space B.V. (ISISPACE), a provider of CubeSat components and missions. Through this partnership, Orbital Transports and ISISPACE are further aligning their goals to industrialize the new space economy.

Orbital Transports provides turnkey satellite solutions to companies who want access to space and yet have little-to-no prior experience with space missions. The company is curating an extensive network of partners to deliver a variety of small satellite solutions from mission design, to launch procurement and satellite operations. Orbital Transports coordinates all the complex elements involving space vehicles, people, facilities and services required for a successful small satellite mission. (1/24)

China to Launch More Space Science Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
China plans to launch more space science satellites in the coming three to four years, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The satellites will be used to detect electromagnetic signals associated with gravitational waves, solar eruption activities, astronomy and the interaction between solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. Four new missions include the Gravitational Wave Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor, the Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory, the Einstein-Probe and the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer. (1/28)

SpaceX Is About to Launch a Historic Mission With Actual People on Board Crew Dragon (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX is poised to launch its first astronauts into space this spring: Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Their flight on the company's Crew Dragon spaceship will mark the first time an American spacecraft has carried NASA astronauts since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011. Behnken and Hurley's liftoff is expected to launch a new era of US spaceflight, since it will allow NASA to stop relying on Russian launch systems to get astronauts into space. It will probably also make the two astronauts the first to ever fly a commercial spacecraft.

"Bob and I were lucky enough to be selected together," Hurley told The Atlantic in September. "As we get closer to launch, things in the last year have actually been pretty hectic. We've been spending increasing amounts of time in California, because that's where most of the work is being done for Dragon." In preparation, they have run through emergency procedures, undergone extensive training the Crew Dragon's mechanisms, worn their new spacesuits, and met with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. (1/26)