March 12, 2020

Famous Cosmonaut Backs Constitutional Shift Allowing Putin to Remain Russia's President 16 More Years (Source: Economist)
What a convenient thing a tame parliament is. On March 10, acting on a proposal from the first woman in space (now a celebrity MP), the Russian Duma approved an amendment to the country’s constitution that would reset the clock barring anyone from serving more than two consecutive terms as president. As it happens, that would allow Vladimir Putin, at present ineligible to run for another term when his current one expires in 2024, to stay on for two more six-year terms after that date, assuming he can win two more elections on top of the four he has won already.

By then, in 2036, he would be 83, and would have ruled Russia for 36 years, as long as Ivan the Terrible. Two of the world’s biggest military powers, China and Russia, now have what look like presidents-for-life. Such leaders seldom improve with age.

Russia’s Constitutional Court still has to rule on whether Mr Putin’s changes are indeed constitutional. It is a sign of how completely Mr Putin has packed and bent Russian institutions to his will that no one imagines that he will fail to get his way, just as no one imagines that Valentina Tereshkova, who took her giant leap for womankind back on June 16th, 1963, was acting off her own bat. The third hurdle is an “all-people vote” of doubtful legality on the newly adjusted constitution, which Mr Putin has scheduled for April 22. (3/12)

SpaceX Starlink Factory Building Satellites Four Times Faster Than OneWeb (Source: Teslarati)
An executive says that SpaceX’s Seattle-based Starlink factory is building satellites up to four times faster than OneWeb, the company’s closest competitor in the new low Earth orbit (LEO) internet space race. Jonathan Hofeller – VP of Starlink and Sales – revealed SpaceX’s extraordinary Starlink production rate just days before the company’s sixth planned 60-satellite launch. Now two days away from liftoff with Falcon 9 and its satellite stack already vertical at the launch pad, SpaceX will likely end the week with some 350 operational satellites in orbit – around twice as many as any other public or private constellation in history.

While SpaceX will have soon attempted five 60-satellite Starlink launches in four months, CEO Elon Musk recently revealed that the company is still building spacecraft faster than it can launch them. At a reported production rate of six satellites per day, that news is now incredibly unsurprising given that it means SpaceX could theoretically build the world’s second-largest satellite constellation (excluding Starlink) in a single month. To be clear, though, the company has created one of the best possible problems the Starlink program could have.

First revealed in late 2019 and reiterated in recent months, SpaceX executives have consistently noted that the company plans to attempt some 20-24 dedicated Starlink launches in 2020 alone. As previously noted on Teslarati, 20-24 launches could put enough Starlink satellites in orbit for SpaceX to realistically begin serving customers almost anywhere on Earth. Two and a half months into 2020, it’s entirely possible that SpaceX already has several launches worth of Starlink satellites waiting for their Falcon rockets. (3/12)

What the Impact of Coronavirus Looks Like From Space (Source: New York Times)
We used satellite images to track the impact of the coronavirus on the economy and daily life around the world. Here’s what we found. Click here. (3/4)

Blue Origin Unveils Sleek New Mission Control Located at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: WESH)
Not content with building what could be the world's largest rocket, the founder of Amazon has unveiled what some are calling the world's coolest mission control center. Blue Origin's mission control is designed to be better and look better than any other mission control center. On Wednesday, the rocket manufacturer released an inside look at the sleek surroundings where engineers will control the New Glenn rocket, built in the same facility.

Once upon a time, NASA Mission Control was at Cape Canaveral, before it moved to Houston.Now, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has built the privately-owned mission control center on the Space Coast. It's a part of Blue Origin's sprawling and growing industrial complex on NASA property on Merritt Island. A tall, new test stand has gone up, where rockets will be pressure-tested.Workers are adding another huge building next to the main manufacturing building which already rivals the Vehicle Assembly Building in volume.

Though Blue Origin won't say what it will be used for, speculation said it will be a moon lander. Bezos unveiled his proposed lander last year,but not even the state's space development agency knows what the new building is for. Blue Origin is making massive investments in Florida to establish this as a location for manufacturing and processing. The New Glenn rocket, built in Central Florida, could launch for the first time next year. (3/12)

Tory Bruno Outlines ULA Transition to Vulcan and National Security Launches (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Both of the currently active ULA launch vehicles are beginning to phase out, to be replaced by Vulcan. Just five Delta IV Heavy launches remain on the manifest, all NRO launches procured under the block buy Phase 1 methodology. Bruno expects the final Delta launch to occur in 2023 or 2024. The workhorse of the ULA fleet, Atlas V, is expected to retire on a similar timeframe. Bruno says the launcher could be “done as early as 2022, or as late as 2024.”

Atlas V will have to continue operations until its replacement, Vulcan, can be human-rated to launch the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. After the anomalous Orbital Flight Test in 2019, NASA is considering a second uncrewed test flight prior to a crewed mission. Bruno says the Atlas V rocket originally built for the Crew Flight Test can support either a crewed or uncrewed Starliner mission, whichever is needed next. While the Atlas V rocket will be replaced by Vulcan in the next few years, a piece of the launcher will live on: the Centaur upper stage.

Vulcan’s first stage will, at least initially, be expendable, potentially evolving towards recovery of the engines with SMART (Sensible Modular Autonomous Return Technology) reuse. After the first stage fuel depletes and the upper stage separates, the engine bay will separate and deploy an inflatable heat shield for reentry. A parafoil will then be deployed to enable mid-air capture for recovery.  As part of their NSSL Phase II bid, Bruno says that ULA provided the Air Force a “catalog” of vehicle configurations and customizations. (3/12)

Who's Winning DoD and NASA Medium/Heavy Launches? (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
DoD launches are now being procured under Phase 1A of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, in a competitive bid process. Since Phase 1A began in April 2016, fourteen national security launch contracts have been awarded as part of the program. Five of them, including two AFSPC missions, two SBIRS GEO launches, and the NRO Silent Barker mission, have been awarded to ULA. The nine other missions went to SpaceX, including five GPS-III missions, two AFSPC missions, and two NRO launches. Over that same time period, ten other missions for the US government have been awarded to the two launch providers. Four NASA missions were awarded to ULA, and six to SpaceX. (3/12)

Aireon and Searidge Technologies Partner to Integrate Space-Based ADS-B Into Digital Tower (Source: Aireon)
Aireon and Searidge Technologies will partner to bring space-based ADS-B data to Searidge’s air navigation service providers (ANSP) and airport customers around the world in 2020. A global leader in digital towers and advanced airport solutions, Searidge has begun integrating Aireon’s space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data into its technology platform.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in June 2019 to commence the collaboration. The Searidge Digital Tower harnesses the power of air traffic management (ATM) data, like Aireon and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance resilience, capacity and efficiency. With Aireon’s air traffic service (ATS) surveillance-grade data, Searidge will be able to provide an on-demand service that allows its customers to access flight positioning and flight status data with no auxiliary equipment required. Customizable and scalable to unique airport’s traffic volumes and operational requirements, this integration will allow Searidge customers to access the highest fidelity data available to the industry in real time. (3/10)

Space Force Wants Threat Intel to Protect Satellites (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force says its needs much more sophisticated threat intelligence than is currently available to defend the nation's satellites. Existing surveillance systems were designed to track objects, monitor traffic and try to prevent satellites from colliding in orbit. The Space Force will need more advanced surveillance technologies and human operators to help military commanders figure out the nature and the source of potential threats and make decisions on how to respond, Lt. Gen. David "DT" Thompson, vice commander of the Space Force, said Wednesday. Thompson said last month that a space intelligence center would be recommended as part of the broad organizational design of the Space Force that will be briefed to Congress in the coming weeks. (3/12)

Cloud Computing Could Support Missile Tracking (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) is examining the roles cloud computing could play in supporting missile tracking. Joy Stein, SDA tracking layer lead, said at the Satellite 2020 conference this week that the need for proliferation in both detecting missiles and communicating that information will push it in the direction of using cloud computing to quickly analyze and disseminate that information. The availability of commercial cloud computing capabilities also makes that approach attractive, she said. (3/12)

Airbus Interested in Satellite Servicing (Source: Space News)
Airbus says it's excited about the prospect of satellite servicing, but hasn't decided if it will pursue its own capabilities in that field. Airbus was working on a system that could have launched shortly after Northrop Grumman's MEV-1, but backed away from those plans two years ago because of uncertainty about the commercial market. An Airbus executive said the company could "ramp them up again if necessary." Northrop's MEV-1 is currently moving the Intelsat-901 satellite to its new orbital slot, arriving by the end of the month. Intelsat-901 will then take over traffic being handled by the Intelsat-907 satellite there next month. (3/12)

Spaceflight: Launchers Should Focus on Performance and Price (Source: Space News)
Launch broker Spaceflight wants launch vehicle developers to focus on performance and price, not cool technology. Spaceflight, which arranges rideshare missions on a wide range of vehicles, is willing to work with new vehicles, and is in discussions with a wide range of startups. The company is constantly in need of more launch options, an official said at Satellite 2020 this week, but won't rush to new vehicles without confidence they will deliver. Spaceflight says it's less interested in advanced technologies than in schedule, reliability and price. (3/12)

Lockheed Develops Constellation App (Source: Space News)
Designing a satellite constellation? There's an app for that. Lockheed Martin developed an iPhone and iPad app called "Constellations" that visualizes the tradeoffs and calculations that go into designing a network of satellites in space. Users can figure out what space architecture would better suit their needs and budgets by adjusting key factors like orbit altitude, satellite life and duration of full service. The app will be available on Apple's App Store in the next few weeks. (3/12)

"Hot Jupiter" May Rain Liquid Iron (Source: BBC)
A "hot Jupiter" exoplanet is so hot its atmosphere may rain liquid iron. The exoplanet, called Wasp-76b, orbits so close to its parent star that daytime temperatures reach 2,400 degrees Celsius, hot enough to vaporize metals. At night, temperatures drop by about 1,000 degrees, allowing the iron to condense and fall as rain. Spectroscopic observations of the planet showed a strong iron signal on the evening side of the planet, as day turns to night and temperatures drop, but not on the morning side, evidence of that nighttime iron rain. (3/12)

ExoMars Rover Mission Officially Delayed to 2022 (Source: Space News)
ESA and Roscosmos have delayed the launch of their ExoMars rover mission to 2022. The agencies announced Thursday morning that a lack of time to test and qualify problematic parachutes and electronics vital to the spacecraft forced them to postpone the launch, which had been scheduled for this summer. The mission had struggled with its parachutes, which were damaged in tests last year and required modifications to their extraction system that have yet to be fully tested. ESA also said the coronavirus outbreak would have had an impact on the mission because international teams cannot travel as easily as before. (3/12)

Satellite Conference Ends Early Due to Corona Virus (Source: Space News)
The Satellite 2020 conference ended a day early Wednesday amid a growing wave of coronavirus-related cancellations. Conference organizers said Thursday's scheduled sessions were cancelled, and the exhibit hall closed, after Washington, DC, officials announced it would close the convention center in response to a recommendation limiting mass gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Many other space-related conferences and meetings have also been cancelled or postponed in the last few days, although organizers of both the Space Symposium at the end of the month and next month's GEOINT 2020 Symposium say their events, for now, are still scheduled to take place. (3/12)

ILS Hires ULA Exec, Expands to Include Soyuz and Potentially Human Spaceflight (Source: Space News)
International Launch Services has hired a longtime United Launch Alliance executive as its new president. Tiphaine Louradour spent 13 years at ULA, most recently as head of global commercial sales, before joining ILS this week as its new president. ILS had been without a full-time president since the departure last October of Kirk Pysher. 

ILS also announced it had received approval from the U.S. State Department to market the Soyuz rocket, working in cooperation with GK Launch Services. That agreement, ILS said, could extend to human spaceflight and selling seats on crewed Soyuz spacecraft, although details about both Soyuz launches and spacecraft have yet to be worked out. (3/12)

Insurer Won't Cover LEO Constellation Collisions (Source: Space News)
One space insurer says it won't underwrite collision coverage for low Earth orbit satellite constellations. Assure Space is no longer offering policies covering collision risk for satellites operating in low Earth orbit, the company said at Satellite 2020 Wednesday. Assure Space continues to insure launches, satellites operating in geostationary orbit, satellites raising their orbit through low Earth orbit and missions to the International Space Station. Assure Space expects other insurers to follow its lead in the next one to two years as the debris environment in low Earth orbit becomes more hazardous. (3/12)

SpaceX Seeks Starlink Subsidy for Rural Broadband (Source: Wall Street Journal)
SpaceX is seeking to qualify for a share of federal subsidies for providing rural broadband services. The company has lobbied the FCC to change policies that would make it eligible for $16 billion in awards over the next 10 years to improve broadband access in rural areas. That proposal faces opposition from companies and industry organizations who want the money used instead for terrestrial broadband services. (3/12)

Should Earthlings Chase ‘Oumuamua Into Interstellar Space? (Source: WIRED)
In October 2017, an asteroid-hunting telescope in Hawaii detected something unusual. A cigar-shaped object about twice the size of the Eiffel Tower was booking it past Earth at nearly 60,000 miles per hour—and appeared to be accelerating. Known as ‘Oumuamua, a Hawaiian word meaning “scout,” the object had the characteristics of both a comet and an asteroid. Its bizarre features led astronomers to conclude that it was a cosmic interloper: a giant chunk of rock that was formed in another star system and blasted on a journey through interstellar space billions of years ago.

‘Oumuamua was the first interstellar object ever detected in our solar system. For the last three years there’s been a steady stream of research papers hypothesizing about its origin, its chemistry, and even the possibility that it might be an alien spacecraft. The asteroid is rapidly receding into deep space, which makes it difficult to observe using telescopes on Earth. This means that many of the questions about ‘Oumuamua may never be answered—unless, of course, we send a spacecraft to intercept it.

This is the goal of Project Lyra, a mission proposed by a British nonprofit called the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, which funds education and research projects focused on taking us to the stars. The group announced Project Lyra just two weeks after ‘Oumuamua’s discovery and in May, Acta Astronautica will publish the updated version of their proposed mission to chase down the asteroid. (3/12)