January 7, 2020

SpaceX's Texas Starship Factory Set to Receive More Parts From Florida (Source: Teslarati)
After successfully delivering Starship hardware and manufacturing tools to SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas rocket factory and launch facilities, the company has begun preparing a second load of parts to be shipped from Florida to Texas in the near future. This is the latest chapter in a saga that began when SpaceX revealed that it would effectively pause its Florida Starship manufacturing operations and reassign most of its affected employees.

Since SpaceX’s early-December confirmation, the company’s Cocoa, Florida Starship production hub has been more or less at a standstill, only interrupted once and awhile by efforts to either scrap hardware that is no longer needed or send it to Texas, where SpaceX has redoubled efforts to build the next series of Starship prototypes.

Teams in Florida are still working tirelessly to construct a massive Starship launch mount at Pad 39A believed to be capable of supporting full-scale Starship and Super Heavy static fires and launches, confirmation that SpaceX is likely only temporarily halting Starship production in the region. Nevertheless, the focus is now unequivocally on SpaceX’s Boca Chica facilities, where the company is rapidly building and expanding manufacturing facilities and constructing the next full-scale Starship prototype (SN01). (1/6)

NASA May Ask Lunar Lander Aspirants to Put More Skin in the Game (Source: Ars Technica)
NASA wants to return to the Moon, but it would like to do so in a way different from the Apollo Program—more sustainably, so that there are not just a handful of missions before humans retreat back into low-Earth orbit. As part of this, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has said he prefers the space agency to be one of several customers for private companies interested in building transportation systems to the lunar surface and back. Initially, of course, NASA would be the sole customer, but over time, the agency would like to foster the commercial development of the Moon.

Because aerospace companies may one day find additional customers for their services, NASA has asked companies to invest in the rockets, landers, and spacecraft they are building as part of the agency's Artemis Moon program. In short, NASA wants its contractors to put some skin in the game. That may become even more important if NASA has any chance of meeting its goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2024. As part of the fiscal year 2020 budget process, NASA said it needed $1 billion to jump-start the design and initial development of two independent systems to land on the Moon. But as part of a budget deal reached by Congress before Christmas, NASA only received $600 million.

This has caused the space agency to think about leaning a bit more on its contractors, Bridenstine said. "The $600 million wasn’t everything we requested, which means we’re going to have to make some modifications to how we move forward," Bridenstine said. "But I do think the intent is to move forward with multiple contracts. We can’t delay, we’ve got to keep moving forward. Of course we might need to have some of our partners step up in a bigger way." (1/7)

Firefly Aerospace Preps for Debut Flight of Its Alpha Rocket in April (Source: Space.com)
Firefly Aerospace has pushed the planned debut launch of its Alpha rocket to April as the company prepares for a very busy 2020. In particular, figuring out the two-stage rocket's avionics system "gave us fits," Firefly CEO Tom Markusic told Space.com in a recent interview. That's because the company was originally hoping to make Alpha's flight-termination system fully autonomous, he explained.

When the vendor couldn't qualify that advanced system in time, the vendor switched to the usual "human in the loop" system. But waiting for parts pushed back Firefly's December 2019 launch time frame to something closer to March 2020. Firefly then chose to take a little more time for further refinements and is now aiming for April 2020 for the first launch of the 95-foot-tall (29 meters) rocket, Markusic said.

The Firefly team is currently working on fully qualifying the Alpha's first stage, with all the components being fitted together on a stand for a test fire that should take place soon. If that goes according to plan, the first Alpha rocket should be ready for shipment to the launch site, California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, in February, Markusic said. If problems are found in qualification, more time will be needed for adjustments. (1/6)

SpaceX is Now the World’s Largest Satellite Operator (Source: Ars Technica)
SpaceX now operates a constellation of nearly 180 satellites in low-Earth orbit, each weighing a little more than 220kg. This makes the company simultaneously the world's largest private satellite operator (eclipsing Planet Labs), while also being the most active private launch company.

Becoming a satellite operator has not been without its challenges for SpaceX. It has had to work closely with the Air Force's 18th Space Control Squadron to track its Starlink satellites and ensure they do not collide with other satellites on orbit. SpaceX has also faced a backlash of criticism from astronomers and dark sky advocates who say its "trains" of satellites have polluted the sky. In response, SpaceX has said it will take steps to make the satellites less visible and disruptive to nighttime skies. (1/7)

Sparking the Space Economy (Source: Aerospace America)
Those who want to expand society into space have long dreamed of a space-made product that will prove to be uniquely lucrative. A stunning return on investment, the thinking goes, would induce others to flock to orbit with their own dreams, just as Americans headed west in the 19th century. This year, a fiber optic material called ZBLAN is receiving its moment in the limelight for its potential to ignite the space economy.

At Made In Space in Silicon Valley, CEO Andrew Rush handed NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine a palm-sized spool of clear fiber made of ZBLAN, short for zirconium barium lanthanum aluminum sodium fluoride. ZBLAN is among a group of glasses discovered by accident in 1974 by French scientists Marcel and Michel Poulain at the University of Rennes. In the years since, manufacturing challenges have relegated ZBLAN to specialty optical applications such as laser-generating mediums and optical fibers for medical endoscopy and scientific spectroscopy.

Made In Space and its two rivals in the ZBLAN field, FOMS, short for Fiber Optics Manufacturing in Space, of San Diego and Physical Optics Corp. of Torrance, California are racing to be first to commercialize ZBLAN fibers by making them in orbit, as each company has so far done only in small batches aboard the International Space Station. True believers think that space-made ZBLAN fibers could gradually replace silica fibers as the product of choice for modernizing or expanding the millions of kilometers of fiber optic cables back on Earth. This would require mastering production of long fibers in space facilities sized for commercial production. (1/7)

NASA Moves To Curb Contractors' Use Of Counterfeits (Source: Law360)
NASA proposed a rule on Monday that would require contractors to purchase electronic parts directly from manufacturers and specific suppliers to prevent the use of counterfeit electronics in its programs. NASA is proposing to amend the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NFS) to add new text that requires covered contractors and subcontractors at all tiers to use electronic parts that are currently in production and purchased from the original manufacturers of the parts, their authorized dealers, or suppliers who obtain such parts exclusively from the original manufacturers of the parts or their authorized dealers.

If the contractor does not purchase electronic parts as described above, they must purchase the parts from a NASA identified supplier or contractor-approved supplier. The contractor will then assume responsibility and be required to inspect, test and validate authentication of the parts. The contractor will also be required to obtain traceability information and provide this information to the contracting officer upon request. The selection of contractor-approved suppliers is subject to review and audit by the contracting officer. (1/7)

Commerce Department Tightens Foreign Sales Of US Satellite Tech (Sources: Law360, TIME)
U.S. companies will now need a license for their overseas sales of artificial intelligence software used to analyze satellite images, according to a federal government announcement aiming to restrict the use of such technology by foreign militaries. The Commerce Department said new export rules take effect Monday that target emerging technology that could give the U.S. a significant military or intelligence advantage.

A special license would be required to sell software outside the U.S. that can automatically scan aerial images to identify objects of interest, such as vehicles or houses. The rules could affect a growing sector of the tech industry using algorithms to analyze satellite images of crops, trade patterns and other changes affecting the economy or environment. (1/6)

Final Testing for JWST Could Bring Launch Early Next Year (Source: Space News)
Despite diminished schedule reserves, NASA and Northrop Grumman remain optimistic that the James Webb Space Telescope will launch in a little more than a year. At an American Astronomical Society conference this week, officials said that the mission was on schedule for launch in March 2021, although only two months of schedule reserve remain. That optimism, they said, is based on the work remaining, much of which involves testing similar to what has been done in the past. That upcoming work includes a final round of environmental tests and deployment of the spacecraft's sunshield. (1/7)

Blue Canyon Working on Methane Monitoring Satellite (Source: Space News)
Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) will build its largest spacecraft to date to perform a methane monitoring mission. MethaneSAT, a subsidiary of the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, will use BCT's X-SAT bus for a 350-kilogram satellite it plans to launch in 2022 to detect methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The mission, whose methane-sensing payload will be provided by Ball Aerospace, has a budget of $88 million, with the government of New Zealand providing $16 million to support the satellite and build a mission control center in the country. (1/7)

SpaceX Cargo Capsule Returns to Earth From ISS (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
A Dragon cargo spacecraft has returned to Earth after departing the International Space Station this morning. The station's robotic arm unberthed the Dragon spacecraft and released it at 5:05 a.m. Eastern. The spacecraft splashed down off the California coast at about 10:40 a.m. Eastern. The Dragon, launched last month on the CRS-19 commercial resupply mission carrying about 1,600 kilograms of research payloads and other cargo. (1/7)

Arianespace to Launch Euclid to Study Dark Matter, Energy (Source: ESA)
Arianespace and ESA announced the signature of a launch services contract for the Euclid satellite – with the mission’s timeframe for liftoff starting in mid-2022 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The Euclid mission will be compatible with Ariane 62 and Soyuz. Euclid is a medium-class astronomy and astrophysics space mission to investigate the history of the expansion of our Universe over the past 10 billion years, looking into the current acceleration of cosmic expansion fueled by a mysterious component referred to as dark energy, and the growth of cosmic structures driven by the presence of dark matter. (1/7)

SpaceX Crew Dragon Test Flight Delayed to NET January 18 (Source: NASA)
An in-flight abort test of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has been delayed a week. NASA said Monday that the test is now scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 18, one week than previously announced, to provide additional time for spacecraft processing. In the test, a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A and, about 90 seconds later, the Dragon will fire its SuperDraco thrusters to escape the rocket. (1/6)

Blue Origin Expands in Seattle Area with New HQ (Source: GeekWire)
Blue Origin opened a new headquarters building Monday. The U-shaped O'Neill Building, with more than 230,000 square feet of office space, is across the street from the company's existing facility in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Washington. The building will host 1,500 of the company's 2,500 employees. The building is named after the late Princeton physicist Gerard K. O'Neill, whose visions of space settlement inspired company founder Jeff Bezos. (1/6)

Philippines Gets Space Agency Chief (Source: Philippine News Agency)
One of the world's newest space agencies has its first director. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Tuesday that Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. will be the director of the Philippine Space Agency. Marciano has been acting director of the country's Advance Science and Technology Institute. The agency was formally established in August 2019 to implement the country's new space policy. (1/7)

Indian Astronauts Get Space Menu (Source: Hindustan Times)
The first Indian astronauts already have a menu for their spaceflight. India's Defence Food Research Laboratory announced it has developed a range of foods for the crew of India's first human spaceflight mission, expected to launch no earlier than late 2021. The Indian space agency ISRO announced last week that four people, all Indian Air Force pilots, will start training for that mission later this month. (1/7)

Earth Sized Exoplanet Found in Star's Habitable Zone (Source: Space.com)
NASA's TESS mission has detected its first Earth-sized planet in a star's habitable zone. Astronomers announced Monday that they had discovered the planet, TOI-700d, in observations by the spacecraft. The planet is about 20% larger than Earth and orbits a red dwarf star at a distance where liquid water could exist on its surface. Astronomers used follow-up observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope to confirm the planet's existence. Two other planets orbit the same star, but closer to it. (1/7)

United Kingdom Teaming With United States in Space (Source: National Defense)
The United Kingdom is pursuing ambitious plans for new satellite launch capabilities while increasing collaboration with its U.S. ally in space. The “ability to innovate, to imagine, to get ahead of problems, to conduct research and look at how we are actually going to fight in the future is as important as recognizing how vital space is to us,” he added.

Some of the issues the United Kingdom and its allies face include increased congestion in space and threats of anti-satellite weapons from adversaries. Meanwhile, the nation is boosting its space capabilities. The Royal Air Force is investing more than $33 million over the next year to launch a constellation of small satellites into low-Earth orbit. The systems will relay high resolution video and data to fighter jets to increase pilot awareness. (1/3)

Technique Could Speed Search for Life (Source: Space.com)
Scientists have developed a new method for detecting oxygen in exoplanet atmospheres that may accelerate the search for life. One possible indication of life, or biosignature, is the presence of oxygen in an exoplanet's atmosphere. Oxygen is generated by life on Earth when organisms such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into chemical energy.

UC Riverside helped develop the new technique, which will use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to detect a strong signal that oxygen molecules produce when they collide. This signal could help scientists distinguish between living and nonliving planets. Since exoplanets, which orbit stars other than our Sun, are so far away, scientists cannot look for signs of life by visiting these distant worlds. Instead, they must use a cutting-edge telescope like Webb to see what's inside the atmospheres of exoplanets. (1/7)

SpaceX Launches, Lands Booster, Misses Fairing (Sources: Space Daily, Space.com)
SpaceX on Monday launched its third batch of 60 mini-satellites into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, part of its plans to build a giant constellation of thousands of spacecraft that will form a global broadband internet system. The company successfully landed the core stage booster on its droneship landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the fourth launch/landing for this booster. SpaceX designed its souped up Falcon 9 rocket to fly as many as 10 times with only light refurbishments in between. The company has yet to fly a booster five times

An attempts to recover a fairing halve in a net was unsuccessful. "We didn't catch it this time. We got really close," SpaceX Starlink satellite engineer Laurel Lyons said. "But we're going to keep on trying." With each piece fetching roughly $3 million, SpaceX hopes to save some money by reusing them on future flights. To date, GO Ms. Tree (the vessel formerly known as Mr. Steven) has made two successful catches. SpaceX has 20-24 Starlink launches planned for 2020, so the company will have a wealth of opportunities to push its fleet of reusable rockets to their limits, ranging from attempting nth booster reuses to testing and expanding the envelope of SpaceX’s nascent payload fairing reuse program. (1/7)

New Concerns About India’s ASAT Test Debris (Source: Space News)
Space junk has long been identified as a growing risk to satellites. As the Aerospace Corp. noted, “imagine the damage caused by a giant rocket fragment crashing into a U.S. national security satellite at 21,600 mph?” The issue is especially worrisome in low Earth orbit at altitudes lower than 2,000 km, where even tiny particles can wreak havoc. The debris caused by India’s March 27 test of a ground-based anti-satellite weapon against a satellite orbiting at an altitude of about 300 km will have lasting effects.

"125 objects were cataloged in orbit with apogees up to 2,000 km. While some of the debris did reenter quickly, five months after the test 46 objects remained in orbit, and 17 objects were still being tracked at the end of 2019,” said Jonathan McDowell. Although this is a tiny fraction of the approximately 16,000 cataloged debris objects in orbit, said McDowell, “they turn out to be a large fraction of the debris in the low-LEO regime in which human spaceflight activities take place.” (1/7)