May 1, 2020

Possible Active Tectonic System on the Moon (Source: Space Daily)
Researchers have discovered a system of ridges spread across the nearside of the Moon topped with freshly exposed boulders. The ridges could be evidence of active lunar tectonic processes, the researchers say, possibly the echo of a long-ago impact that nearly tore the Moon apart. "There's this assumption that the Moon is long dead, but we keep finding that that's not the case," said Peter Schultz, a professor in Brown University's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and co-author of the research. "From this paper it appears that the Moon may still be creaking and cracking - potentially in the present day - and we can see the evidence on these ridges."

Most of the Moon's surface is covered by regolith, a powdery blanket of ground-up rock created by the constant bombardment of tiny meteorites and other impactors. Areas free of regolith where the Moon's bedrock is exposed are vanishingly rare. (5/1)

Pandemic Not Expected to Delay Planetary Missions (Source: Spaceflight Now)
Scientists are optimistic the pandemic will not delay several planetary missions in development. NASA's Lucy mission, which will study Trojan asteroids in the same orbit around the sun as Jupiter, must launch during a narrow window in October 2021. Work on that mission is continuing with adjustments, like the use of shifts to reduce the number of people on site at one time. Work remains in progress on ESA's JUICE mission to the moons of Jupiter, scheduled for launch in 2022, although project officials said some of the schedule margin that they had prior to the start of the pandemic has been lost. (5/1)

Ukraine Wants Revitalized Space Industry (Source: Kyiv Post)
The new head of Ukraine's space agency is trying to revitalize the country's space industry. Volodymyr Usov, who took over as head of Ukraine's State Space Agency in February, said he is worried about the long-term health of the industry, which he argues is still managed like it was during the Soviet era. Usov said he wants to transform the current industry into a mix of both private and state-run companies that will be better able to compete for projects globally. Without such reforms, he warned that the country's space industry might collapse, with talented engineers moving to other countries. (5/1)

Our Sun is Less Active Than Similar Stars (Source: Science News)
The sun appears less active than other stars of the same type. Astronomers studied several thousand stars in data from the Kepler space telescope that were similar in age and size to the sun, including many with similar rotation periods. The stars with similar rotational periods were up to five times as active as the sun, although stars whose rotational periods could not be measured appeared to be as quiet as the sun. The results could mean that the sun is capable of more intense periods of activity, or that it is in a "magnetic midlife crisis" and transitioning into a quieter phase. (4/30)

SpaceX's Fast Track to the Moon (Source: @thesheetztweetz)
SpaceX told NASA that — before it flies astronauts to the Moon in 2024 — Starship will have done: 1) Orbital flight with Super Heavy; 2) Reflight; 3) Long duration orbital flight; 4) Beyond LEO flight; Lunar landing demo mission in 2022. (4/30)

NASA, Partners Launch Virtual Hackathon to Develop COVID-19 Solutions (Source: NASA)
NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30-31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from around the world will create virtual teams that – during a 48-hour period – will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID-19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May. (4/30)

China Builds Asia's Largest Steerable Radio Telescope for Mars Mission (Source: Space Daily)
China is constructing the largest steerable radio telescope in Asia with a 70-meter-diameter antenna to receive data from its first Mars exploration mission which is expected to be launched this year. China aims to complete orbiting, landing and roving on the red planet in one mission, which has been named Tianwen-1.

The telescope, with an antenna the size of nine basketball courts, was built by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuqing District of northern China's Tianjin. It will be a key facility to receive scientific data sent back by the Mars probe, which can be up to 400 million km from Earth, and the signals will be very weak, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of China's first Mars exploration mission. (4/28)

Senate Committee Hearing Planned on Ligado, 5G (Source: Space News)
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing next week on the national security impact's of Ligado's recently approved 5G system. The May 6 hearing, featuring several Pentagon officials, will examine how the Ligado system could interfere with GPS signals and what steps the military will have to take to address any interference. The FCC approved in April Ligado's use of a spectrum band near GPS for 5G services, but with conditions the FCC concluded would mitigate any interference. (5/1)

Space Startup Investors Want Companies to Win Government Business (Source: Space News)
Investors in the current business environment are more likely to support space startups that can win government business, one executive argues. In a webinar Thursday, Josh Brost of Relativity Space said while there are still investors with plenty of capital, they are less interested in long-shot ventures and more in those with a "government use case" that can provide the company with significant business. While the government can provide loans and other temporary support for startups during the pandemic, "the most impactful thing that government can do is actually go out and buy services from these startups," he said. (5/1)

Rocket Lab Tests Virginia Launch Pad (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab has tested the new launch pad in Virginia for its Electron rocket. The company rolled out an Electron to Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island, Virginia, recently, going through a series of tests to check out interfaces between the pad and the vehicle, concluding with a brief hot-fire test of the rocket's first-stage engines. The first Electron launch from that pad is now scheduled for the third quarter of this year, pending NASA certification of its autonomous flight termination system. Rocket Lab also said Thursday it has completed its acquisition of smallsat component manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary, which the companies announced in March. Rocket Lab will use Sinclair components in its Photon satellite bus while enabling Sinclair to expand its business. (5/1)

Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Satellite Hardware Manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has closed the transaction to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary, a provider of satellite hardware. Rocket Lab announced the agreement to acquire Sinclair Interplanetary on March 16, pending customary closing conditions and satisfying The Investment Canada Act review process. Terms of the approved deal were not disclosed. The acquisition strengthens the satellite division of Rocket Lab, which produces the Photon spacecraft line. Sinclair Interplanetary products will become key features of Rocket Lab’s Photon satellite platforms designed for low Earth orbit, lunar, and interplanetary small satellite missions. (4/30)

NASA Supplier Covered By Trade Secret Rights, Court Says, in Suit Over Virginia Spaceport Infrastructure (Sources: Law360, Casetext)
The Third Circuit on Thursday upheld a lower court finding that trade secret protections can extend to those with rights to use exclusive, proprietary information without having formal ownership, affirming a win for NASA subcontractor Applied Fluid Systems (AFS) in its suit over stolen confidential information. The finding agreed with a prior court decision that awarded $3.5 million in damages and fees to AFS.

In support of the Orbital Science Corp. Antares launch system, AFS created the Transporter/Erector/Launcher/Hydraulic System (TELHS) for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, pursuant to a contract with the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (VCSFA). According to a 2014 suit filed by AFS against multiple defendants, including Orbital Sciences Corp. (now owned by Northrop Grumman), AFS generated thousands of engineering drawings and diagrams and proprietary software code, which were kept in password-protected electronic files on AFS' server. Although VCSFA acquired "legal ownership to all inventions or works" under the TELHS contract, AFS remained in possession and control of its trade secrets and only used them in a confidential manner to fulfill its obligations.

When necessary, AFS also provided Orbital with certain information to help integrate with the Antares rocket. However, AFS asserts that Orbital does not own TELHS and is merely the end user of TELHS. In 2013 Orbital sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and VCSFA for $16.5 million to enforce a binding arbitration decision that VCSFA owned TELHS and related hardware and therefore must reimburse Orbital for the purchase of such hardware. (4/30)

Aerion HQ Brings High-Wage Jobs, Diversity to Central Florida (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Aerospace firm Aerion Corp.'s next headquarters will touch down in Melbourne this year, bringing with it significant progress in the economic diversification of the region. The Reno, Nevada-based aircraft manufacturer, one of several now working on supersonic passenger jets, will break ground this year on a $300 million global headquarters. That investment will bring 675 high-wage jobs to the region by 2026. (4/28)

Blue Origin Hires Architect for Space Projects (Source: Orlando Business Journal)
Blue Origin has hired experienced extraterrestrial designer Jeffrey Montes to a space architect position. The move is an example of Blue Origin's commitment to its grand vision of space habitation, which could include huge space station colonies carrying more than a million people. And it's a goal the company is working to accomplish thanks to work happening on Florida's Space Coast.

Blue Origin operates a 750,000 square-foot manufacturing facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, where it will make its 300 foot-tall, two-stage New Glenn rocket. This long-term vision is one of the benefits of private companies like Blue Origin that have proliferated in Florida, says Space Florida's Dale Ketcham. (4/29)