March 6, 2020

Megaconstellation Startup Raises $110 Million to Connect Smartphones Via Satellite (Source: Space News)
Japanese online shopping giant Rakuten and global telecom leader Vodafone led a $110 million investment in a U.S. startup planning to create a cellular broadband network with a constellation of hundreds of satellites that would link directly to people’s smartphones. Midland, Texas-based AST & Science has raised $128 million in total for its constellation, called SpaceMobile.

The company will need several hundred million additional dollars to get to revenue, according to AST & Science founder Abel Avellan, a veteran satellite telecom entrepreneur who invested some of his own money in the Series B round announced March 3. Other investors include Samsung’s investment arm Samsung Next, American Tower Corporation, and media and real estate company Cisneros. Avellan said AST & Science has already started in-house production of its first satellites and has begun talking with launch providers. (3/5)

SpaceX Fabricates New Octagrabber for Securing Boosters on Drone Ships (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX has kicked off a series of major upgrades planned for its East Coast fleet of drone ships, centered around Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) and most recently culminating in the apparent fabrication of a second tank-like rocket recovery robot. Informally known as ‘Octagrabber’, a reference to the robot’s primary function, SpaceX has been using the only operational instance of the vehicle on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) for more than two years, beginning in 2017. While far from autonomous, Octagrabber helps SpaceX’s maritime rocket recovery team minimize the risks workers are subjected to and gives the company a bit more flexibility to attempt Falcon booster landings in less-than-pristine ocean weather. (3/5)

Boeing's Engineering Problems: Situational or Systemic? (Source: Quartz)
Boeing has problems building a new Starliner spacecraft for NASA, and it has problems making its jetliner 737 Max safe enough for commercial service. It has insisted these problems are unrelated. Now, though, the company has the same solution to both issues—a new “product and services safety organization reporting directly to our chief engineer.” This reorganization was announced by since-departed CEO Dennis Muilenberg last fall in response to concerns over the safety of the 737 Max, and Boeing says it was always intended to reach across the whole company.

This brings us to the C-word—culture—that has dominated discussion of the aerospace giant since the tragic crashes of the 737 Max. It represents the question: Were these individual mistakes made while developing complex technology, or fundamental flaws in how the company approaches engineering problems? (3/5)

FCC Scaps C-Band Plan (Source: Space News)
The FCC says it will scrap a $9.7 billion incentive package to satellite operators for clearing C-band spectrum if both Intelsat and SES don't agree to accept it. According to a final plan the FCC released March 3, companies eligible for at least 80% of the accelerated clearing payments must participate in order for the program to proceed, which means both Intelsat and SES must agree since their combined share is more than 90%. Intelsat, which is eligible for 50% of the incentive payments, has argued that it should get a larger share, a proposal rejected by the FCC. (3/5)

Esper: Space Command Basing Decision After November Elections (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department will restart the process to select a permanent headquarters for U.S. Space Command. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett told lawmakers Wednesday that the process to select a permanent headquarters for U.S. Space Command will be reopened later this year to give state and local leaders a fresh opportunity to make their pitches. She said the new selection criteria will be published sometime this spring. At a separate hearing Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he personally made the decision to reopen the process and that he does not expect a final decision to be made about the headquarters location until after the November elections. (3/5)

Stratolaunch Flights to Resume in September (Source: Space News)
Stratolaunch's giant aircraft will resume flights in September as the company turns its focus to high-speed flight test activities. At a conference Wednesday, a company executive said that plane, which made a single test flight last April, will fly a series of test flights over eight months as part of an FAA certification process. Stratolaunch originally built the plane to serve as an air-launch platform, but the company has pivoted to supporting flight test activities like hypersonics research using vehicles it plans to develop. The company plans to reveal more details about those activities later this month. (3/5)

NanoAvionics to Build Satellites for High-Def Video Service (Source: Space News)
British startup Sen has selected Lithuanian satellite manufacturer NanoAvionics to build five nanosatellites to capture ultra-high-definition video from space. Each of the 16-unit cubesats will be equipped cameras to create EarthTV, a video streaming service to “inform, educate and inspire humanity,” according to Sen. The company launched its first six ultra-high-definition cameras in 2019 as hosted payloads on a commercial satellite. In orbit, the steerable cameras have captured video of their satellite host and of Earth. Sen plans to launch the first EarthTV satellite in 2021, followed by four more in 2022. (3/5)

Cygnus to Remain In Orbit for Payload (Source: Space News)
A Cygnus spacecraft will remain in orbit an additional month to allow for more testing of a commercial payload on board. The Northrop Grumman NG-12 Cygnus spacecraft left the International Space Station in late January and was scheduled to reenter at the end of February. However, the company said Wednesday the spacecraft will stay in orbit through March so that a customer can continue to test a payload mounted on it. That customer is Lynk, which is developing technologies to allow satellites to communicate directly with mobile phones. Lynk says those tests are producing "great results" so far. (3/5)

Boeing, Lockheed Win Space Force Jam-Resistant Comms Payload Work (Source: Space News)
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have won U.S. Space Force contracts to develop jam-resistant communications payloads under the Protected Tactical Satcom (PTS) program. Boeing and Lockheed Martin received $191 million and $240 million contracts, respectively. They will join Northrop Grumman as the three prime contractors for PTS payload development. The U.S. Air Force started the PTS program in 2018 to develop secure satcom services for government agencies and military forces so they are less dependent on the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites. (3/5)

Chilean Telescopes Expect Moderate Interference From Starlink (Source: BBC)
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) says its telescopes will be "moderately affected" by megaconstellations like SpaceX's Starlink. The study by ESO, which operates several large telescopes in Chile, concluded that a small fraction of its observations could be ruined by passing satellites, but that the problem was manageable and that companies like SpaceX and OneWeb were taking concerns seriously. ESO acknowledged that other observatories, particularly those doing wide-field observations, could face bigger challenges. (3/5)

Man Charged in Springfield Killing is NASA Executive, Former Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Two Others (Source: Washington Post)
A Springfield man charged with shooting and killing a neighbor Tuesday is a NASA executive and a former police officer who fatally shot two people in separate line-of-duty incidents, according to family members and government officials. Michael J. Hetle, 52, worked in NASA’s headquarters on risk mitigation for the space agency’s programs and activities as part of the Enterprise Protection Program, NASA said Wednesday. He joined the agency in 2010 and served in various positions. (3/4)

Beijing to Beef Up Support for Beidou-Related Industry (Source: Xinhua)
The Beijing municipal government has released a three-year plan to promote the innovation and development of industries related to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. Beijing will foster breakthroughs in key and core technologies, and create a sound ecology for Beidou-related industries via cultivating competitive enterprises, according to the plan.

The total output value of the Beidou navigation and location service industry in Beijing will exceed 100 billion yuan (about 14.4 billion U.S. dollars) by 2022, it said. Beijing will also build an innovation center for Beidou-related industries with global influence and set up a standard application system. Beijing will set up seven major demonstration projects to promote the application of the Beidou system in smart transportation, environment protection and intelligent logistics, according to the plan. (3/5)

Blue Origin Shows Off the Finished Massive Nose Cone for its Future New Glenn Rocket (Source: The Verge)
Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin has completed the first nose cone of its future orbital rocket, the New Glenn — and new video of the hardware shows the true enormity of this piece of equipment. With a diameter of 7 meters, or 22 feet, the cavernous nose cone is so giant that it can completely house Blue Origin’s smaller New Shepard rocket.

The nose cone, or payload fairing, is a crucial piece of any rocket heading to space. It sits on top of the vehicle and surrounds whatever payload or satellite the rocket is carrying, acting as a shield during the ascent through the atmosphere. Once in space, the payload breaks away and exposes the satellite so that the payload can be deployed by the rocket. (3/4)

NASA Employees Encouraged to Telework as Test (Source: Space Policy Online)
NASA is encouraging all of its employees to telework on Friday, March 6, to test the agency’s ability to function in case there is an emergency, like the spread of the coronavirus, that requires them to work from home.  Participation is voluntary and not expected to affect already scheduled activities such as advisory committee meetings or events associated with the SpaceX CRS-20 cargo launch to the International Space Station Friday evening. (3/4)

SpaceX Rocket to be Displayed at Space Center Houston (Source: Houston Chronicle)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will be on display at Space Center Houston later this month. The to-be-displayed rocket booster was first launched in June 2017 to propel cargo to the International Space Station, and it landed vertically back on Earth. The booster was flown a second time in December 2017, marking the first time a rocket booster was reused for a NASA mission.

Measuring 156.5 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, the Falcon 9 booster will be displayed horizontally and guests will be able to walk underneath it. It will be the second Falcon 9 rocket booster on display in the world, and it will be Space Center Houston's first commercial space exhibit, according to a news release. (3/4)

Judge Delays Reckless Murder Trial of Former NASA Astronaut (Source: ABC News)
A judge in Alabama has delayed the reckless murder trial of a former NASA astronaut charged in a crash that killed two girls four years ago, court records show. Former space shuttle commander James Halsell of Huntsville was set to go on trial Monday. But the defense requested a postponement citing the death of the father of lead attorney Jim Sturdivant, and a judge agreed in an order filed Sunday. (3/5)

Can Portugal Steal the Next Space Race? (Source: Ozy)
When Hurricane Dorian hit South Carolina last summer, houses got wrecked, creeks overflowed and the region flooded. But help came from an unlikely source on the other side of the Atlantic: Portugal. There, a small startup called Tesselo scoured satellite imagery with artificial intelligence-based algorithms, so that U.S. counties knew how to improve infrastructure in the future.

“We help counties plan where to build and not to build structures like housing and parking in order to reduce flood risk,” says Rémi Charpentier, CEO and co-founder of Tesselo, from sunny Lisbon. If the Portuguese government has its way, we might soon be hearing a lot more stories like this. As the global space industry expands rapidly — it’s expected to grow from $360 billion in 2018 to $558 billion by 2026 — the southwest European nation is eyeing a slice of the pie. (3/5)

Rocketman’s Idea Abruptly Stunted (Source: Chattanooga Pulse)
The rejection of science is a major issue across the world right now. Just a few days ago, the man currently occupying the presidency called COVID-19 a Democratic hoax, despite hosting two press conferences about the dangers of the virus. Where does this come from? The documentary Rocketman: Mad Mike’s Mission to Prove the Earth Flat doesn’t provide answers, but it does give a face to some of the stranger ideas in the world.

Daredevil Mike Hughes was known for setting the world record in limo jumping in 2002. At some point in the following years, Mike became interested in rocket science. This term can be used loosely, of course. In the film, Mike states he doesn’t believe in math, or gravity, or making on-time payments for his impounded limousine. What Mike believes in, however, is himself and his cats. Hughes lived alone on a rental property in Apple Valley, California. He built his rocket from scrap metal he collected and a rudimentary knowledge of metalworking. He also managed to enlist a collection of like-minded individuals, each with an interest in rocket science and varying levels of expertise.

His landlord, Waldo Stakes, is likely the most knowledgeable on the subject. He didn’t consider Mike a friend—but his interest in rocketry and his desire not to watch Mike blow himself up led him to assist in the creation of the rockets. Mike’s ultimate goal was to reach the stars, so he could take a picture of the Earth and prove it was flat. He had a GoFundMe started to help him raise the $2 million it would cost to reach that goal. At the time of the filming, he had raised $65. (3/5)

Space Force Official Hints at New Defensive Capabilities (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Space Force Vice Commander Lt. Gen. David Thompson told lawmakers March 4 the service has started testing new tools built to defend American assets on orbit, possibly hinting at classified counterspace capabilities. “We began prototyping, and demonstrating, and preparing for what I’ll call abilities to protect and defend our assets, and we did that extensively in the budget in [fiscal 2020],” Thompson said at a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing.

“In [2021], we are now taking steps to extend that across the fleet, as well as look at other capabilities to be able to continue to defend those assets that we have and defend adversary use of space.” That could mean anything from updates that shield satellites from signal jamming to something more offensive to target the source of a potential threat. Thompson declined to provide more details in the public forum. (3/4)