March 13, 2020

Isotropic Pivots to Serve a Handful of Key Markets Including Government and Defense (Source: Space News)
Isotropic Systems won a U.S. Defense Department contract that the satellite terminal developer would love to announce. Unfortunately, the startup is prohibited from identifying the specific agency, dollar value or work to be completed, John Finney, Isotropic Systems founder and CEO, said. Still, the new contract reveals how Isotropic, a firm once focused on the consumer broadband market, has pivoted toward developing terminals for government and defense customers, established satellite constellation operators, telecommunications, enterprises and maritime applications, while licensing technology for aircraft terminals. (3/10)

NASA Takes Gateway Off the Critical Path for 2024 Lunar Return (Source: Space News)
A revised plan for returning astronauts to the surface of the moon by 2024 will no longer rely on the use of a lunar Gateway, although NASA’s human spaceflight head says the agency is still committed to eventually developing it. Doug Loverro, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said he had been working to “de-risk” the Artemis program to focus primarily on the mandatory activities needed to achieve the 2024 landing goal.

He noted that, in the Apollo program, it took the lunar lander program six and a half years to go from contract signing to the Apollo 11 landing. By contrast, NASA has less than five years before the current deadline. “What are we going to do to go ahead and make that happen? And the answer is you’ve got to go ahead and remove all the things that add to program risk along the way,” he said. (3/13)

Something Strange Is Going On with the North Star (Source: Space.com)
Something's up with the North Star. People have watched the North Star for centuries. The bright star, also known as Polaris, is almost directly above Earth's North Pole and serves as a landmark in the sky for travelers without a compass. It's also Earth's closest cepheid, a type of star that pulses regularly in diameter and brightness. And Polaris is part of a binary system; it's got a dimmer sister, known as Polaris B, that we can watch circling it from Earth.

"However, as we learn more, it is becoming clear that we understand less" about Polaris, wrote the authors of a new paper on the famous star. The problem with Polaris is that no one can agree on how big or distant it is. (3/12)

SpaceX's Starship Will Soon Be Made of Different Stuff (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX is about to make a bone-deep tweak to its Starship Mars-colonizing spacecraft. The California-based company built its first few Starship prototypes out of a stainless-steel alloy known as 301. But aerospace engineers have been using that particular metallic blend since the middle of the last century, and it's time for SpaceX to make a change, Elon Musk said.

"We should be able to do better in the 2020s than they did in, like, the '50s, you know?" Musk said. "So, I think we'll start switching away from 301 maybe in the next month or two." SpaceX is still committed to stainless steel for both the 100-passenger Starship and Super Heavy, the giant rocket that will launch the ship off Earth. The company will just migrate to a different alloy, whose constituents SpaceX will tweak over time, Musk said.

Stainless steel is much cheaper than the carbon-fiber material that SpaceX initially aimed to use for Starship and Super Heavy, and the metal has other important advantages as well, Musk stressed. For example, stainless steel handles heating far better than carbon composites do, he said. And that's crucial for the reusable Starship and Super Heavy, both of which will be making many highly energetic trips through Earth's atmosphere, both up and down. (3/12)

SpaceX Reaches Out to Astronomy Community on Starlink Concerns (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX has contacted the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to discuss how it can stop its Starlink satellites from interfering with one of its telescopes. ESO published a concerning paper last week which suggested SpaceX's satellite project Starlink could have a "severe" impact on wide-field survey telescopes. SpaceX has taken heat from some in the astronomy community for launching its satellites despite concerns that they could interfere with research. (3/13)

Maine Site Could  Be Hub for Spaceport Complex (Source: Press Herald)
Brunswick Landing could be the future base for explorations of the final frontier from Maine. With its existing infrastructure, central location and proximity to other aerospace businesses, the former military base is the ideal spot for a “New Space industry meeting place and new business incubator and accelerator.” The hub is intended as one of three branches of a future Maine Spaceport Complex. The other branches include a Maine Space Data and Advanced Analytics Center of Excellence, and two coast launch sites; one at the Limestone Commerce Center and another in Washington County. (3/13)

Canadian Space Agency President Sylvain Laporte is Leaving After Serving One Term (Source: SpaceQ)
Last fall SpaceQ asked Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Sylvain Laporte if he was going to stay for a second term beyond his mandate which expires this month. We now have an answer. The department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) which includes the CSA in its portfolio, announced the job opening and search. "Apply today to be considered for this position and play a leadership role in maximizing the scientific and economic benefits of space exploration." (3/13)

As Coronavirus Spreads, Here's What the Space Industry is Doing to Prepare (Source: Florida Today)
As the threat of the coronavirus pandemic continues its worldwide spread, preparations are underway across the Space Coast – and the space industry is not immune. Teams across the Cape are meeting and deciding steps forward for the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness, now confirmed by Johns Hopkins University at 137,445 cases worldwide and 5,088 deaths. Here's what space-related organizations are doing. (3/13)

Space Symposium Postoponed Due to COVID-19 (Source: Space News)
One of the biggest space conferences of the year has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Space Foundation notified key stakeholders Thursday night that the 36th Space Symposium will not be held March 30 to April 2 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Conference organizers are working to identify a new date for the conference, which regularly attracts thousands of registrants and hundreds of exhibitors from around the world. (3/13)

Space Club Luncheon Goes On, Debus Dinner Postponed Due to COVID-19 (Source: NSCFL)
With the assurance of heightened hygiene protocols by the Radisson, the National Space Club Florida Committee WILL be holding our March 17 luncheon with special guest speaker Ray Lugo from the Florida Space Institute. This gathering will have less than 250 people in attendance and will be our only gathering this month as the Debus Award Dinner scheduled for March 27th has been postponed. (3/13)

Overclassification May Confuse Need for Space Force, Air Force Secretary Says (Source: Space Daily)
Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett said this week that better transparency may be the key to overcoming skepticism about the newly created Space Force. Much of what the Space Force - previously known as Air Force Space Command - has done is shrouded by "overclassification," Barrett said in remarks delivered to the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies on Capitol Hill, meaning the military's emphasis on secrecy has probably hindered support for the new branch. (3/11)

Will Space Command Come To Florida? State Leaders Ready To Make The Case Once Again (Source: WMFE)
Florida is back in the running to host the Space Command. The Air Force left the state off a short list last year but the competition to host Space Command has been reopened. Even before Congress created the Space Force in December 2019 at the President’s request, military leaders were focusing assets to protect national security against a space-based threat. Click here. (3/13)

Asia's Mobile Revolution Puts Satellite Makers Into Spin (Source: Nikkei)
When Japan's Rakuten announced this week that it had acquired a stake in AST & Science, the Texas-based outfit building the world's first space-based mobile broadband network, it brought home a new reality: the satellite revolution is coming. Designed to connect regular smartphones to satellite internet for the first time, the two companies said the SpaceMobile network would initially offer a 4G connection, with plans to deliver 5G services.

"Our investment is part of our broader strategy to become a leading mobile network operator in Japan," said Hiroshi Mikitani, the billionaire founder and chairman of Rakuten, whose would-be global tech giant is seen as Japan's answer to Amazon. The same day, China's Geely Holdings, a leading automaker which also owns Volvo, said it would become the first private Chinese company to produce and operate a low-orbit satellite constellation as part of its push to develop driverless cars. (3/6)

NASA Picks Science Payloads for Lunar Gateway (Source: Space News)
NASA announced Thursday it has selected the first science payloads that will fly on the lunar Gateway. NASA said it will include a space weather instrument package developed within the agency along with an instrument from the European Space Agency to measure radiation conditions in cislunar space. The instruments will help NASA better understand the environment that astronauts will be exposed to on future missions to the moon and prepare for expeditions to Mars. NASA did not disclose a specific cost or schedule for the payloads, but NASA officials said at an advisory committee meeting Thursday they would develop the instruments quickly, using equipment largely available off the shelf. (3/13)

SAIC Prevails in Space Force Re-Compete for Satellite Ground Systems (Source: Space News)
SAIC has once again won a U.S. Space Force satellite ground systems contract after a protest. SAIC was re-awarded a $655 million contract for satellite ground systems services that it originally won in January 2019 and was successfully protested by Peraton. The contractor will modernize satellite ground systems at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico and Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado. (3/13)

Astronauts Grounded in Russia's Star City Over COVID-19 (Source: Space Daily)
Astronauts awaiting a space mission are banned from leaving Star City training centre outside Moscow due to the novel coronavirus and will skip traditional pre-launch rituals, the centre's head said Thursday. The next launch to the International Space Station is due to blast off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on April 9 with Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy on board.

Pavel Vlasov, the head of Star City, where all astronauts prepare for missions, said that "quarantine for the crews started earlier than usual," referring to the astronauts and the reserve crew. Astronauts go into quarantine routinely ahead of space missions and give a final press conference at Baikonur from behind a glass wall to protect them from infection. Vlasov said this procedure was speeded up because of the coronavirus pandemic. So far there have been 28 confirmed cases in Russia, most of them in Moscow. (3/13)

Russian Cosmonaut Swap Okay With NASA (Source: Space News)
A swap of Russian cosmonauts on the next mission to the International Space Station should not be a problem, NASA says. Roscosmos announced Friday that the prime crew for the Soyuz MS-16 mission, American astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, has passed their final exams for the flight. Ivanishin and Vagner were added to the crew last month, replacing Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin because of a medical issue. NASA says that the swap should not pose a problem because Cassidy had previously trained with Ivanishin and Vagner, who also got extra training in case they need to conduct a spacewalk during their mission. (3/13)

Aerojet Readies New Solid Rocket Motor Facility in Arkansas (Source: Space News)
Aerojet Rocketdyne is preparing to open a new facility for producing solid rocket motors. The company announced Thursday it expects the 17,000 square-foot facility it built in Camden, Arkansas, to open for business later this spring. The company says the new facility, which will handle work previously done at a factory near Sacramento, California, is critical in its efforts to remain a viable supplier of large solid rocket motors for national security programs. (3/13)

No Consensus on Commercial Remote Sensing Regulations (Source: Breaking Defense)
There's no sign of an interagency consensus on revised commercial remote sensing regulations. Industry officials had hoped that the final rules streamlining the licensing process for such spacecraft could be finalized ahead of a National Space Council meeting currently scheduled for March 24. However, disagreements among the Commerce, Defense and State Departments about the proposed rules make that increasingly unlikely. A final decision on the revised regulations may not come until the fall. (3/13)

HASC Grills MDA Chief On ’21 Budget, Space-Based Sensors (Source: Breaking Defense)
DoD and military leaders took a bipartisan beating from the House members this morning about not only the budgets for missile defense and “missile defeat” efforts, but also the policy direction of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). In particular, both Democrats and Republicans grilled MDA chief Vice Adm. Jon Hill on the movement of funds from MDA to the Space Development Agency (SDA) for development of a space-based sensor for tracking ballistic and hypersonic cruise missiles.

MDA’s budget request zeros out funding prototyping the Hypersonic & Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) Prototyping. Congress deliberately added $108 million for HBTSS back to the MDA budget, and cut funds in the SDA budget, in the 2020 defense appropriation bill. “The space sensor layer is underfunded and, despite congressional direction, was given to the nascent Space Development Agency,” said Democratic Chairman Jim Cooper in his opening statement. (3/12)