June 19, 2020

PredaSAR Plans 48-Satellite Constellation (Source: Space News)
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) startup PredaSAR is targeting an initial constellation of 48 satellites. That constellation, the company said Thursday, would support the goal of offering customers the ability to obtain updated views of sites on the ground within minutes. The first two satellites for that constellation are under construction by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, which, like PredaSAR, is part of Terran Orbital. PredaSAR, led by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Roger Teague, raised $25 million in a seed funding investment round announced in March. (6/19)

UK Space Sector Gets a Boost with Installation of Giant New Satellite Test Chamber (Source: Space Daily)
The UK's space industry has received a major piece of new equipment to help get larger, more complex satellites ready for launch. A 16m long space test chamber, amongst the giants of Europe, has been installed in the UK's National Satellite Test Facility in Oxfordshire. The enormous chamber will be used to test spacecraft up to 7 tonnes for the harsh conditions of space. The chamber can be heated and cooled using nitrogen cooled shroud panels to achieve a temperature range of 95 Kelvin to 373 Kelvin to (-180C to +100C). It will be operated by STFC's RAL Space, and alongside other test equipment at the National Satellite Test Facility will enable UK businesses to bid competitively for new contracts and remain a world leader in space technologies. (6/18)

Researchers Design a System to Reduce Noise of Rockets in the Launch Phase (Source: Space Daily)
The thesis is focused on the research of methods that reduce the noise level of space rockets during the first phases of launching (engine ignition and takeoff). According to Ivan Herrero, at those times, the levels of acoustic pressure experienced by the space vehicles are extremely high and could seriously affect the light structures onboard, such as solar panels and antennas, making it necessary to reduce the noise levels.

"During the launch of space rockets, over 150 dB of sound pressure level are reached at certain frequencies. It is the highest level sound event produced by a human being, only behind some natural events like an earthquake," explains Ivan Herrero. In addition, the intense sound generated by the primary sources, engine and jet increases due to reflection at the bottom of the rocket launch site, which acts like a mirror from the acoustic point of view, and gives the energy released back to the rocket and the structures onboard, implying economic and safety consequences. (6/19)

Swamp Watch: Controversial Appointments to Key DoD Intelligence, Policy Posts (Source: CNBC)
Kathryn Wheelbarger, one of the Pentagon’s most prominent and respected policy officials, is resigning after three years in the job after President Trump dropped plans to nominate her for an intelligence post, sources tell Reuters. Wheelbarger, who is highly regarded by national security experts in Trump’s Republican Party and among Democrats, had been named by the White House on Feb. 13 to a senior intelligence position at the Department of Defense.
But in a surprise move last week, the White House instead announced plans to nominate Bradley Hansell, a former special assistant to Trump, to the position of deputy under secretary of defense for intelligence.

Her departure will come as Trump attempts to overcome stiff Senate opposition among Democrats to his nomination of retired Army General Anthony Tata, a strong defender of Trump on Fox News, to the Pentagon’s most senior policy position. Tata has misportrayed former President Barack Obama as a Muslim and accused him of being a “terrorist leader” working to benefit Iran, according to now-deleted Tweets seen by Reuters. Democrats on the Armed Services Committee have signaled they would oppose Tata’s nomination. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Tata “by far Trump’s most unqualified & ill-suited senior defense nominee -- a high bar... An Islamophobic conspiracy theorist who called President Obama a ‘terrorist leader’ should not be #3 at the Pentagon.” (6/18)

Florida Awards $722K in Military Installation Grants (Source: Enterprise Florida)
Governor Ron DeSantis announced that $722,400 was awarded through the Florida Defense Support Task Force (FDSTF) Grant Program to three projects to protect military installations across the state. The award recipients include the Florida Department of Military Affairs, the Bay County Board of County Commissioners and the City of Jacksonville. This grant award, combined with the previous award this fiscal year, results in a $1,447,400 commitment by the FDSTF to Florida’s defense communities. (6/19)

CARES Act Includes Posey Provision to Protect NASA & Defense Contract Workers and Their Mission (Source: Rep. Bill Posey)
Legislation passed to provide economic relief to American families, workers and businesses to help aid our nation through the coronavirus pandemic  included Rep. Bill Posey’s (R-FL) provision to protect NASA and Defense contract  employees and ensure our nation’s space and defense workforce and programs remain intact.

Contract workers at NASA and at our military bases face serious hardship when they are restricted from reporting to work at the Space Center or their respective DoD programs – for many there’s no telework option.  “As we battle the coronavirus we don’t want to risk losing our highly skilled workforce which ultimately could jeopardize our national security and critical space program investments.  My provision has kept these workforces intact so that as we continue to re-open they can immediately report to work,” Rep. Posey said. (6/19)

Blue Canyon Opens Colorado Satellite Factory (Source: Space News)
Smallsat builder Blue Canyon Technologies is moving employees into a recently opened factory designed to build 100 satellites a year, and more in the future. The Crescent Satellite Constellation manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Colorado, near the city of Boulder, opened June 3, said Matt Beckner, Blue Canyon chief operating officer. Because the factory opened during the coronavirus pandemic, employees are working staggered shifts and social distancing. Beckner said about 65-75 people are working at the same time, though the factory can support 275 workers at full operations. (6/19)

Lueders Won't Guarantee 2024 Artemis Lunar Landing (Source: Space News)
The new head of NASA's human spaceflight program said Thursday that while she's excited by the challenge of returning astronauts to the moon by 2024, she couldn't guarantee meeting that deadline. In a call with reporters, Kathy Lueders emphasized the importance of aggressive goals, citing her experience managing NASA's commercial crew program, but said she couldn't state with certainty the agency can make that 2024 deadline. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, also on the call, said that selecting Lueders as associate administrator for human exploration and operations "increased the probability of success." Lueders also said in the call that the Crew Dragon spacecraft launched to the space station nearly three weeks ago is doing well, and expected the mission to last until early August. (6/19)

Rocket Lab Wins NRO Launch Contracts (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab announced Thursday it won contracts from the NRO for back-to-back launches next year. The contracts cover launches of unspecified payloads on two Electron rockets launching from New Zealand. The statement said the launches will take place "within weeks" of each other next spring, but company CEO Peter Beck said they would try to launch them as close together as possible in a demonstration of responsive launch using two separate launch pads. Rocket Lab's next launch, scheduled for July 3, will be less than three weeks from its most recent one, and Beck said that the following launch will have an even shorter turnaround. (6/19)

SDA Seeks Delayed Transfer to Space Force (Source: Space News)
The Space Development Agency (SDA) wants time to demonstrate its capabilities before being moved into the Space Force. The SDA is trying to show the utility of space systems consisting of large numbers of small satellites in low Earth orbit, primarily using commercial technologies. Congress directed the Defense Department to move the SDA into the Space Force by October 2022, although some have pushed for a faster integration. Derek Tournear, director of SDA, said Thursday he does not want to rush that transition so that his agency has "enough runway to be able to demonstrate that military utility." (6/19)

NRO Interested in Small Satellites and Launchers (Source: Space News)
The NRO is looking for opportunities to use private sector-funded technologies to support intelligence and defense agencies. Intelligence Community Space Executive John Paul Parker said in a podcast this week that commercially developed smallsats and small launch vehicles are areas of interest to the NRO. He said he is considering establishing an Intelligence Community Commercial Space Council to bring in experts to examine how those technologies can support intelligence agencies. (6/19)

Pence Uplinks to ISS (Source: Space.com)
Vice President Mike Pence spoke with the astronauts on the ISS this week. In the video call, not broadcast on NASA TV, Pence congratulated astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley for making history on the Demo-2 commercial crew launch last month. The astronauts discussed the experience of launching on a Falcon 9 and flying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, comparing it to their past flights on the shuttle. (6/19)

NASA, ESA, HAXA to Discuss Pandemic Research (Source: NASA)
NASA and other space agencies will discuss research on the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic next week. NASA, along with the European Space Agency and the Japanese space agency JAXA, will talk about effects on environment and socioeconomic activity caused by the pandemic next Thursday. The agencies established the COVID-19 Earth Observation Dashboard to allow researchers access to current and historical satellite data to examine how changes in activity caused by lockdowns in response to the pandemic affected the environment. (6/19)

£500,000 Awarded to Create New UK Deep Space Center (Source: University of Leicester)
A new center dedicated to the exploration of deep space is to be built at the Space Park Leicester site, after the Wolfson Foundation awarded a £500,000 grant towards the project. The new Wolfson Deep Space Center will foster collaboration between business and universities to develop solutions to major challenges in space exploration, such as powering longer missions without solar power.

One of Space Park Leicester’s key priorities will involve developing methods to lower the cost of placing satellites in orbit, and using these to provide data and services that benefit society and enhance everyday lives. The grant from the Wolfson Foundation will enable the Center to apply those same approaches to changing the way we explore the distant planets. (6/17)

New Covid-19 Norms Foster Agile Smallsat Innovation (Source: Space Daily)
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing wide-scale safer-at-home order responses have made it abundantly clear that a return to "business as usual" may never happen. This "new normal" will require new, innovative methods of providing services that can be implemented quickly, dynamically, and often remotely. In spite of the challenges presented by COVID-19 and social distancing mandates, The Aerospace Corporation has adjusted seamlessly across the enterprise in adapting to current conditions.

A prime example can be found in Aerospace's AeroCube smallsat operations team, which is continuing to provide unabated spacecraft commissioning despite having a significantly reduced on-site workforce. In addition, other aspects of the AeroCube program are being quickly reconfigured to enable a teleworking team to provide the same services that have up until recently been provided by local staff. (6/18)