March 16, 2020

When Senator Walter Mondale Went to the Moon: the Apollo 1 Fre and the Myths We Create (Source: Space Review)
Sen. Walter Mondale’s questioning of NASA in a hearing after the Apollo 1 fire led to his portrayal as a critic of the agency, opposed to Apollo. Dwayne Day unearths an interview with Mondale that offers a different perspective on Mondale’s views about the program. Click here. (3/16)
 
Mars in Limbo (Source: Space Review)
Last week the European Space Agency announced it was postponing the launch of its ExoMars rover mission from 2020 to 2022 because of technical problems. Jeff Foust reports on that delay and potential risks to other Mars missions scheduled for launch this year because of matters beyond their control. Click here. (3/16)
 
Space Security: the Need for a Monitoring Mechanism (Source: Space Review)
Efforts to create treaties or other international agreements to keep space from becoming weaponized have failed to gain traction. Ajey Lele says an international organization, separate from any treaty regime, might be able to make progress on space security. Click here. (3/16)
 
Private Options, Private risks: the Future of US Spaceflight (Source: Space Review)
Later this year NASA astronauts will fly to the International Space Station on commercial crew vehicles. Roger Handberg discusses how that is reopening debates about the role NASA should play in overseeing the safety of such spacecraft. Click here. (3/16) 

Chinese LM-7 Launch Fails (Source: Xinhua)
At 21:34 on the 16th, China organized the first flight mission of the Long March VII to medium carrier rocket at the Chinese Wenchang space launch site. The rocket flight was abnormal and the launch mission failed. Follow-up experts will be organized to investigate and analyze the cause of the failure. (3/16)

The $400 Billion Space Industry is Bracing for Coronavirus, as Two NASA Employees Test Positive (Source: CNBC)
NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin are just a few of the organizations that have begun to limit business travel and reschedule events. The potential slowdown would hit more than development of hardware, such as spacecraft, with software engineers possibly impacted by a limited ability to work from home if required. NASA’s Marshall center in Huntsville, Alabama reported on Friday that an employee tested posted for coronavirus, the second agency center to do so.

SpaceX appears to be largely moving forward with normal operations, although CEO Elon Musk reportedly wrote in an email to employees that if they’re “feeling ill” that “it’s always better to stay home and take care of yourself.” Boeing said in a statement that it “not made any changes to our operational engineering support for the International Space Station,” with engineers on-site. But the company’s Houston facility “is operating in accordance with Boeing’s Covid-19 policies,” with telecommuting encouraged and reduced face-to-face meetings. (3/15)

Orion Completes Testing at Plum Brook, Ready for KSC (Source: Space News)
The Orion spacecraft that will fly on the first launch of the Space Launch System has completed testing at an Ohio facility and will soon be shipped back to the Kennedy Space Center for final launch preparations. NASA held a ceremony March 14 at Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, run by the Glenn Research Center, to mark the completion of environmental testing of the Orion spacecraft that will fly the Artemis 1 mission. Orion arrived at Plum Brook in November for thermal vacuum and electromagnetic environment testing. (3/15)

EU clears UTC Purchase of Raytheon, Subject to Conditions (Source: Reuters)
The European Union has cleared United Technologies Corporation’s planned acquisition of Raytheon, subject to conditions, the European Commission said on Friday. UTC agreed in June to combine its aerospace business with U.S. contractor Raytheon Co and create a new company worth about $121 billion, in what would be the sector’s biggest ever merger. The Commission said it had had concerns that the transaction would have reduced competition in the markets for military GPS receivers and airborne radios. (3/13)

Space Force Gets Satcomm Jammer (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force has declared operational a satellite communications jamming system. The Counter Communications System (CCS) Block 10.2 was declared operational by the Space and Missile Systems Center's special programs directorate and turned over last week to the 4th Space Control Squadron based at Peterson Air Force Base. The CCS is a transportable electronic warfare system that temporarily denies adversary satellite communications. The new version of CCS includes more frequency bands and other features to give operators more options to disrupt enemies' satellite communications. (3/16)

Rocket Lab Buys Smallsat Company (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab is acquiring a smallsat component company. Rocket Lab announced Monday it is buying Toronto-based Sinclair Interplanetary for an undisclosed sum. Sinclair makes components such as reaction wheels and star trackers for smallsats. Rocket Lab said that it will use Sinclair components on its Photon smallsat bus, and will provide resources to Sinclair to scale up its business. (3/16)

Russia Struggles to Attract Cosmonaut Applicants (Source: TASS)
Russia is struggling to attract applicants to its cosmonaut corps. Roscosmos said that about 900 people have applied to become a cosmonaut after the agency opened a recruitment campaign last June. That effort is scheduled to wrap up this June. By contrast, NASA received more than 18,000 applications in its previous astronaut selection round in 2015. NASA has not disclosed how many applications it has received so far from an ongoing application process that remains open through the end of this month. (3/16)

Landowner Opposes Scottish Spaceport (Source: The Herald)
A billionaire landowner is opposed to a proposed Scottish spaceport. Anders Holch Povlsen, a Danish billionaire whose Wildland Ltd. is the largest private landowner in Scotland, called for an extension of a public comment period on the application by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to build a launch site near Sutherland in northern Scotland. Polvsen's company argued that the application "contains significant errors of omission and is incomplete." The site, announced by the U.K. government in 2018, would start hosting launches as soon as 2022 if approved. (3/16)

NASA Center Goes Telework to Counter COVID-19 (Source: Space News)
A second NASA center has moved to mandatory telework because of the coronavirus pandemic. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center said Saturday that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19 and, as a result, the center was closed to all but mission-essential personnel. NASA's Ames Research Center moved to mandatory telework a week ago after one of its employees was diagnosed with the disease. In a statement late Saturday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said other NASA centers were open, but that employees were "strongly encouraged" to telework. Separately, the European Space Agency said it was asking its employees to work remotely "wherever possible" until further notice. (3/16)

DoD Goes Telework to Counter COVID-19 (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department is also moving to telework for many of its offices. In a conference call with reporters Saturday, officials said many Defense Department offices will shift to telework, although it will not be mandatory, with decisions made on an office-by-office basis. Access to Pentagon facilities will be restricted and offices in the building will operate on "minimum manning" to help contain the spread of the disease. Restrictions are also in place for most travel outside of mission-essential activities. (3/16)

Kourou Suspends Launch Operations to Counter COVID-19 (Source: Space News)
Launch activities at the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, have been suspended in response to the pandemic. Prior to the announcement, the head of Avio, manufacturer of the Vega, said he expected that vehicle's next launch would still take place this month, although it was not clear when the team working on the launch would be able to return to Italy. (3/16)

Musk Downplays COVID-19 Risk (Source: BuzzFeed)
Elon Musk, by contrast, is downplaying the effects of the disease, telling SpaceX employees in an email Friday that they are more likely to die in a car accident than from COVID-19. Musk previously tweeted that the "coronavirus panic is dumb." (3/16)