June 15, 2020

Europa's Surface Color Suggests an Ocean Rich with Sodium Chloride (Source: AGU)
The composition of Europa's surface may be representative of the subsurface ocean; however, considerable debate persists regarding the endogenous or exogenous nature of a hydrated sulfate feature on Europa. Direct evidence of oceanic salts on Europa's surface has been largely inconclusive. We show that the observed color within geologically young features on Europa's surface can be explained by sodium chloride delivered from the ocean below.

We find that sodium chloride, when exposed to Europa surface conditions, accumulates electrons in F and M centers, yielding a yellow‐brown discoloration comparable to Europa's surface. Irradiation of sodium chloride from Europa's ocean thus provides a simple and elegant solution to the color of the non‐ice material observed on Europa. This evidence for endogenous salts suggests that Europa's ocean is interacting with a silicate seafloor, a critical consideration for assessing habitability. (4/21)

'Space Race' Hots Up with first Shetland Rocket Launch (Source: BBC)
Scotland's "space race" has seen the first test rocket being fired from Shetland. The Shetland islands are one of three proposed locations bidding to launch commercial satellites into space. Edinburgh-based Skyrora launched its Skylark Nano rocket from the Fethaland peninsula at North Roe over the weekend. The 6.5ft (2m) rocket successfully reached an altitude of about 20,000ft (6,100m). (6/15)

First Space Tourists Face Big Risks (Source: Space Daily)
What you need to know before you fly to space Spaceflight is regarded as an inherently dangerous activity. While some hazards of spaceflight and the space environment - like G-forces, radiation, vibration and microgravity - are well documented, many risks remain unknown. The scope of physiological risks spans pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight operations and activities.

FAA regulations also focus on the safety and protection of the public on the ground, not the civilian passengers who are called spaceflight participants. This includes anyone who is not crew or a government astronaut on a spacecraft. As a result, regulations stipulate minimum requirements with regard to medical fitness and training for space tourists, as well as informed consent, and waivers of liability to protect the launch operator. So prospective space participants are taking a big risk.

No standardized medical criteria exists for screening or selecting spaceflight participants. Unlike flight crew which require a Class II airman's medical certificate, there is no similar requirement for fitness to fly for space tourists. Where the law is silent or lacking, the FAA's Recommended Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety can provide general guidance. Here the FAA recommends a spaceflight participant receive a medical consultation within 12 months of flight from a physician trained or familiar with aerospace medicine. Since this is a not a legal requirement, ultimately it will be up to the launch operator to determine fitness-to-fly and "no-go" criteria for preexisting conditions. (6/15)

Spiral Blue Partners with SatRevolution for in Orbit Demonstration Mission (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Spiral Blue has signed an agreement with Polish satellite manufacturer SatRevolution to launch and test our first prototype Space Edge Zero (SEZ) computer in orbit. Our SEZ computer will be hosted by SatRevolution’s SW1FT satellite, set for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than December 2020. Following in orbit qualification, the SEZ will be tested throughout 2021.

This mission will be more than just a technical demonstrator to prove that SEZ works in space. SatRevolution’s SW1FT will also be carrying an optical payload capable of capturing RGB imagery at 6m resolution. This imagery will be passed to SEZ, allowing SEZ to take in and process earth observation imagery in real time. We intend to test a variety of algorithms on these images, such as our Vessel Detect AI. This gives us the opportunity to do a full end-to-end test of Space Edge computing from both a technological and commercial perspective – taking images, processing them, and delivering the processed data. (6/15)

Peresvet: a Russian Mobile Laser System to Dazzle Enemy Satellites (Source: Space Review)
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed “significant progress in laser weapons” in a speech two years ago. Bart Hendrickx describes what that progress is, particularly involving a system intended to blind satellites as they fly overhead. Click here. (6/15)
 
The Eagle, the Bear, and the (Other) Dragon: US-Russian Relations in the SpaceX Era (Source: Space Review)
The success so far of SpaceX’s Demo-2 commercial crew mission means that the US will soon be able to end its reliance on Russia for accessing the International Space Station. Gregory Miller examines some of the geopolitical implications of that shift. Click here. (6/15)
 
Hugging Hubble Longer (Source: Space Review)
While NASA’s future space telescopes run into delays or other problems, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to work well 30 years after its launch. Jeff Foust reports about how one former astronaut with plenty of experience repairing Hubble wants NASA to consider another mission to service the telescope. Click here. (6/15)
 
How has Traffic Been Managed in the Sky, on Waterways, and on the Road? Comparisons for Space Situational Awareness (Source: Space Review)
In the concluding section of their examination of space traffic management approaches, Stephen Garber and Marissa Herron explore what lessons can be learned from how air, sea, and motor vehicle traffic is managed when considering improvements to space traffic management. Click here. (6/15)

Dream Chaser Spaceplane Pressure Test Article Arrives at Kennedy Space Center (Source: NASA)
Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser pressure test article arrived at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on June 3, 2020, from Colorado, and was transported to the high bay in the Space Station Processing Facility. The test article is similar to the actual pressurized cabin being used in the Dream Chaser spaceplane for Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) missions. NASA selected Dream Chaser to provide cargo delivery, return and disposal service for the International Space Station under the CRS-2 contract.

Under the contract, Dream Chaser will provide a minimum of six cargo missions to and from the space station, carrying critical supplies like food, water and science experiments, and return to Earth with a landing at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility, managed by Space Florida. The pressure test article was used to validate that Dream Chaser can withstand the demands associated with repeated launches and returns from space. SNC designed the Dream Chaser spacecraft to be reusable for as many as 15 missions. The pressure article specifically verified the composite and bonded structure of the spacecraft. (6/11)

US Military is Getting Serious About Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (Source: Ars Technica)
There are many ways to get around space, but most of them are pretty slow. This is why, even when launching at an optimal time, a spacecraft leaving Earth requires about six months to reach orbit around Mars. For decades, many rocket scientists have looked to a propulsion system powered by a nuclear reactor as the fastest practical means of getting to Mars and other places in the Solar System more quickly.

The German engineer who defected to the United States after World War II, Wernher von Braun, recognized the potential of nuclear thermal propulsion even before his Saturn V rocket landed humans on the Moon with chemical propulsion. Eventually this led to a project called NERVA, which stood for Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application. It was eventually canceled to help pay for the space shuttle. (6/15)

36 Alien Civilizations Could be Communicating in Our Galaxy, New Research Claims (Source: Sky News)
There could be 36 alien civilisations in the Milky Way which are actively communicating by broadcasting radio signals into space, according to new research. No direct evidence has been found for any intelligent extraterrestrial lifeforms, but a study led by the University of Nottingham puts a number on how many civilizations we should be looking for. Their estimate is based on the assumption that intelligent life would evolve on other planets in the same way that it has done on Earth.

The research estimated the number of what the scientists call Communicating Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent civilizations (CETI) - or alien civilisations like our own which broadcast radio signals into space. Professor Christopher Conselice, an astrophysicist at Nottingham, explained: "There should be at least a few dozen active civilizations in our galaxy under the assumption that it takes five billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as on Earth." (6/15)

FCC Has Doubts About LEO Constellation Latency (Source: Space News)
While the FCC will allow low Earth orbit constellations to compete for rural broadband subsidies, it's not convinced such systems can meet its requirements. The FCC agreed last week to allow LEO constellations to compete for $16 billion in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund subsidies. However, in the text of the rules of the program released after the meeting, it stated it had "serious doubts" any LEO system can meet the low-latency requirements for the program. The FCC said that it could not accept SpaceX's claims it can meet the requirements based solely on the altitude of the company's Starlink satellites, since network processing times add to the total amount of latency. (6/15)

Japan's Interstellar Suffers Another Momo Suborbital Launch Failure (Source: NHK)
A suborbital launch by a Japanese startup failed Saturday. The fifth launch of the Momo rocket by Interstellar Technologies took place at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Saturday from the island of Hokkaido. However, the rocket engine nozzle broke 36 seconds into flight, and the engine was shut down 34 seconds later. This was the fourth failure in five launches of Momo, which Interstellar Technologies is using to test systems for a small launch vehicle under development called Zero. (6/15)

Congress Approves NASA Science Reorg (Source: Space Policy Online)
Congress has approved a plan to move the agency's biological and physics sciences research. Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, said Friday that the agency received approval to move the Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications division, which supports research in those fields on the ISS, from the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) to the Science Mission Directorate. Human research programs will remain in HEOMD. NASA officials said earlier this year they were planning that move as part of a broader reorganization of HEOMD, arguing that the Science Mission Directorate was a better fit for that division. (6/15)

ESA's Sun Orbiter Nears Burning Orb (Source: BBC)
ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft has made its first close approach to the sun. The spacecraft, launched in February, passed 77 million kilometers from the sun early Monday. The spacecraft will get closer to the sun on future orbits, coming within 43 million kilometers. Project scientists are still working on commissioning the spacecraft's instrument suite, although one instrument, a magnetometer, is already in normal operations. (6/15)

Georgia and Alaska Spaceport Authorities Sign MOU (Source: Spaceport Camden)
Alaska Aerospace Corporation (AAC), owner and operator the Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska (PSCA), and Camden County, Georgia have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work cooperatively on establishing common operating environments for launch operators who wish to reach both [polar and equatorial?] orbits. By working together, AAC and Camden County can better support launch vehicle operator needs and the emerging commercial space launch market, while strengthening both endeavors.

PSCA, based in Kodiak, Alaska, is ideal for launching into polar and sun synchronous orbits, while Camden is ideal for lower inclination and equatorial orbits. PSCA and Spaceport Camden can work together to establish common operating environments that have common processes, protocols and procedures. This will create a seamless, smooth and cost-efficient operating environment for small launch operators.

AAC was established by the state of Alaska to develop a high technology aerospace industry in the state. AAC has 22 years of experience conducting launch operations of small and light-lift vertical launch vehicles from PSCA on Kodiak Island and has not accepted federal or state funds for operations and maintenance for the past five years. While having a similar business model to Camden County and Spaceport Camden, AAC offers vertical launch vehicles access to highinclination and polar orbits from a responsive, flexible and low-cost spaceport. President and CEO Mark Lester joined AAC in 2018 and brings over 25 years of aerospace experience to the company with an emphasis on space operations in both government and private sector operations. (6/15)

Space, Race, and Reality (Source: Space.com)
For the last few weeks, Americans and people around the world have risked their lives by leaving their safe shelters from the coronavirus to protest after the murder of George Floyd captured in a video that, like the virus, circled the planet. As a member of the space community — a field symbolizing the future as no other human activity does — I was convinced that I was too socially evolved to be prejudiced. As one who has promoted the roles of women and other underrepresented groups in my own events, and who in my private life sometimes volunteers at a food kitchen for the homeless, I was able to nestle comfortably in my own self-congratulatory state of enlightenment. After all, what field is more socially progressive than space? We are the leading edge!

Space people like to point out our field has been integrated for a long time. We"ve had a Black NASA administrator, Black astronauts, Black program directors and more. Heck, we've been working the problem ever since Uhura started helping Captain Kirk save the Enterprise! (Ironically, around the same time, Black women at NASA now nicknamed "Hidden Figures" were saving the Apollo program.) I now see that even I am trapped in this illusion, and in my opinion we in the space community have been too smug in our belief that we've been dealing with this issue.

While we have indeed set up role models and moved forward faster than many segments of society, a lot of what we've been doing is window dressing and tokenism when it comes to diversity in real leadership roles. Space is still largely a White guy industry. Just follow the money. I asked our research team at SpaceFund Intelligence to do just that, and what we found may surprise you. For example, of the top 20 NASA commercial contractors, not one of them is led by a Black CEO, only two have a minority leader, and only five have a woman at the helm. Only one is majority-owned by any minority, Arctic Slope Regional, which is an Alaska Native corporation. (6/15)

Pheronym NSF Grant Helps Commercialize Eco-Friendly Pest Control Product Tested on ISS (Source: ISSNL)
Biotech company Pheronym recently received a National Science Foundation grant to help the company bring its nematode pheromone pest control product to market. In December 2019, Pheronym sent nematodes (microscopic roundworms) to the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory as part of an investigation focused on environmentally friendly agricultural pest control.

Certain types of nematodes contain bacteria in their gut that kill insects that are harmful to crops. Pheromones produced by the nematodes are what signal the nematodes to disperse and find new insects to infect. Pheronym developed technology that uses pheromones to control nematodes to optimize their use as agricultural pest control.

Pheronym’s ISS National Lab investigation, done in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, sought to study nematodes in microgravity to uncover new pheromone production mechanisms and other insights that could help improve Pheronym’s pest control product formulation. Learn more in the ISS360 article “On the Hunt: Studying Insect-Killing Worms in Space.” (6/15)

China's 'Golden Rocket’ is a Space Program Warhorse (Source: Shanghai Daily)
SPACEX’S Falcon 9, which sent two US astronauts to the International Space Station on the first commercial flight on May 30, wasn’t the only recent milestone in space. China’s 28-year-old “golden rocket,” made in Shanghai, also made headlines the next day. The Long March-2D carrier rocket, developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, sent two satellites into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gansu Province on May 31.

The satellites, Gaofen-9 and HEAD-4, were successfully placed in orbit. As an optical remote sensing satellite, Gaofen-9 is capable of providing photographs with a resolution of about 1 meter. It will be used in land surveys, urban planning, road network design and crop yield estimates, as well as disaster relief. It can also serve projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The other satellite, the HEAD-4, was developed by Beijing-based HEAD Aerospace Technology Co. It can carry out on-orbit information collection from ships, aircraft and Internet of Things sensors. Though the mission may have attracted a bit less attention than the SpaceX launch, it marked the 47th successful launch of the rocket, which was initially developed in 1992. It was also the 333rd flight of the Long March carrier rocket series. (6/15)