March 25, 2020

Satellite Stocks See Sharp Decline (Source: NSR)
A 35-50% decline in stock prices among several major satellite operators is likely indicative of deeper concerns than the coronavirus, according to Northern Sky Research. Smaller business backlogs, shorter capacity contracts and limited product differentiation are other factors that likely spooked investors, the research firm said. NSR estimates that negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have battered stocks in and outside of the satellite industry, will continue for at least two to three financial quarters. Businesses focused on satellite connectivity to aircraft, ships and oil and gas sites will feel greater financial stress from COVID-19, while satellite TV, consumer broadband and cellular backhaul are likely to see higher demand, NSR said. (3/25)

A New Tracker for Satellites and Debris (Source: ArianeGroup)
ArianeGroup is adding an eighth observatory to its GEOTracker network for tracking satellites and debris. GEOTracker started in 2017 with six telescopes —  two in France, two in Australia, one in Spain and one in Chile. Last year ArianeGroup added a seventh site in Germany, near Munich. Its eighth site will be located at the Centre for Appropriate Technology in Northern Australia. Though called GEOTracker, ArianeGroup’s telescope network can monitor geostationary and medium Earth orbits. (3/25)

Boeing Starliner Flight Raises Profile of Space Network (Source: Space News)
When Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner failed to reach the International Space Station in December, initial reports pegged part of the problem to NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Later analysis revealed software issues led to Starliner’s abbreviated test flight. Still, the mission raised the profile of TDRSS and underscored the need for robust communications in low Earth orbit.

Since the 1970s, NASA has updated its Space Network repeatedly to keep up with demand. Seven satellites and four ground stations provide the bulk of communications for more than 40 missions including the International Space Station, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and Transiting Exoplanet Satellite Survey. Some Space Network satellites are more than two decades old. Nevertheless, the Space Network continues to offer reliable global coverage 24-hours a day for missions led by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other government agencies. (3/25)

NASA to Support Falcon-9 Engine Failure Investigation (Source: Space News)
NASA will participate in a SpaceX investigation of an engine anomaly during last week's Falcon 9 launch. The agency said Tuesday its commercial crew program will be part of the investigation into the premature shutdown of one of nine engines in the rocket's first stage. That shutdown did not prevent the launch from successfully placing its payload of Starlink satellites into orbit on the fifth flight of that booster, but that first stage did fail to land on a droneship. NASA said that, for now, it is maintaining a launch of the Demo-2 commercial crew mission for mid-to-late May. (3/25)

Dragon Parachute Test Ends Early with Helicopter Drop (Source: Space News)
A botched Crew Dragon parachute test Tuesday could also revise the schedule for that mission. SpaceX said that a helicopter carrying a Crew Dragon parachute test article was forced to release that test article early when it became unstable. The parachutes were not armed at the time of the release and thus did not deploy, and the test article was destroyed. SpaceX said this was not a failure of the parachute system itself because the parachutes never had a chance to deploy. SpaceX said earlier this month it was wrapping up its parachute tests, with only a couple left to perform before the system would be certified for flight. SpaceX said it is working with NASA "to determine the testing plan going forward" before flying Demo-2. (3/25)

Rocket Lab Delays Launch Due to Pandemic (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab is delaying its next launch because of the coronavirus pandemic. The company said Tuesday its next Electron launch from New Zealand, which had been scheduled for March 30, was postponed after the New Zealand government issued new orders closing all nonessential businesses. That mission, called "Don't Stop Me Now" by the company, was to launch three NRO payloads and two university cubesats. (3/25)

Space Force Sees No Delays in Launches From Pandemic (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force does not expect the pandemic to restrict launches from Cape Canaveral. The Space Force's 45th Space Wing that operates the range is working with a reduced staff in an effort to practice social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic, but said upcoming launches will continue as planned. That includes the Atlas 5 launch of the AEHF-6 satellite scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Military or contractor personnel who would typically attend launches for training or as observers are not being allowed to view upcoming launches. Public viewings have been closed, which eliminates the need to deploy security staff. (3/25)

ESA Suspends Four Science Missions to Reduce Staffing Requirements (Source: Space News)
ESA is suspending operations of four science missions to reduce staffing requirements as its mission control center. The four missions — Cluster, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Mars Express and Solar Orbiter — will be placed into a safe mode, with science operations halted, to reduce the number of people required to work at the European Space Operations Centre in Germany. It also allows ESA to use those remaining staff on higher priority activities, like the upcoming Earth gravity-assist flyby of the BepiColombo mission to Mercury next month. (3/25)

SpaceX Workers Exposed to COVID-19 (Source: CNBC)
SpaceX has instructed some employees to self-quarantine after potential exposure to the coronavirus. One SpaceX employee and one employee of a company that provides medical services at SpaceX's Hawthorne, California, headquarters have tested positive for COVID-19. SpaceX has asked about those employees who had close contact with those individuals to self-quarantine and monitor their health for two weeks. That facility, like many others in the aerospace industry, remains open as it is classified as part of a "critical infrastructure" sector. (3/25)

NASA Hightens Pandemic Response Level (Source: NASA)
More NASA centers have moved to Stage 4, the highest level of response to the coronavirus pandemic. NASA said Tuesday half its 18 facilities, which include field centers as well as NASA Headquarters and facilities run by field centers, are now at Stage 4, which requires all personnel to telework with the exception of those needed for safety and security of the sites. Among the latest centers to go to Stage 4 are the Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Some centers have gone to Stage 4 after personnel were diagnosed with COVID-19, while others have done so because of growing spread of the disease in their communities or shelter-in-place directives from local or state governments. NASA said one Goddard employee had tested positive for COVID-19, as has one at the Michoud Assembly Facility. (3/25)

NASA Seeks to Commercialize Ground Station Operations (Source: Space News)
NASA is seeking to commercialize much of its space communications operations. NASA already relies on commercial and university ground stations to provide two-thirds of communications and tracking for its Near Earth Network, which supports suborbital and orbital missions as well as rocket launches and satellite operations at Lagrange points. NASA is seeking industry assistance in replacing the Space Network, which provides communications for more than 40 missions through the TDRS satellites  and ground stations. NASA plans a multistep campaign to encourage development of commercial space-based relay networks before the current TDRS spacecraft reach the end of their lives. (3/25)

APT Sees Revenues Decline (Source: Space News)
Hong Kong-based satellite operator APT Satellite blamed regional competition for a decline in revenues. The company said revenues fell 14% in 2019 as new national satellites for Bangladesh and Indonesia started operation, increasing the supply of satellite capacity and driving down prices. APT Satellite said that while it is making inroads in China, it sees continued "oversupply and keen competition" in the market in 2020. (3/25)

Wall Street Remains Bullish on Virgin Galactic (Source: Investors Business Daily)
Wall Street remains bullish about Virgin Galactic even in the current economic climate. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas upgraded Virgin's stock Tuesday from equal-weight to overweight, but lowered his price target for the stock from $30 a share to $24. Morgan Stanley's optimism is based on the long-term potential for the company to develop hypersonic point-to-point passenger transportation, despite industry expectations that such systems are still many years in the future. He cautioned that near-term demand for suborbital space tourism "could be hampered" by the coronavirus pandemic. Virgin Galactic's stock closed up more than 25% in trading Tuesday. (3/25)

Pandemic Delays Renaming of Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Source: Florida Today)
The pandemic is putting on hold some name changes related to the Space Force. Plans to rename Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station have been postponed, officials said. That name change had been expected for this month, possibly involving a ceremony at the bases. The Space Force has not announced a new date for renaming those facilities or others being transferred to the new service. (3/25)

Russian to Study if Space Suits Can Bring Microbes Into ISS From Exterior (Source: Sputnik)
Russian scientists intend to study whether cosmonauts during a space walk could pick up microorganisms on their space suits and bring them into the International Space Station (ISS), a department head of the Institute for Biological and Medical Issues of the Russian Academy of Sciences said in an interview.

"We are currently planning to conduct an experiment on the ISS dubbed 'Lovushka' ['trap'] to research what particles and microorganisms 'stick' to the surface of the station; as well as an experiment 'Episcaph' to explore the possibility of cosmonauts picking up such microorganisms on their space suits and bringing them inside the station upon returning from a spacewalk", Vyacheslav Ilyin said. According to the scientist, the ISS' outer hull is home to various microorganisms that could have come from Earth's atmosphere, including spores of microorganisms living in the soil. (3/25)