June 25, 2020

Tethers Unlimited, Now Part of Amergint, Delivers Radio Components for Millennium Satellite Constellation (Source: GeekWire)
Tethers Unlimited says it has completed an on-time delivery of 15 S-band software-defined radios in support of a small-satellite constellation mission being developed by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing subsidiary. In a news release, Tethers Unlimited said the deliveries also included the first small-satellite mesh networking solution to support data transfer between satellites. Tethers Unlimited, which was recently acquired by Amergint Technology Holdings, is involved in a variety of commercial and government-funded projects relating to communications, propulsion, robotics and in-space manufacturing. (6/24)

Redwire "Just Getting Started" with Space Company Acquisitions (Source: Quartz)
The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners is assembling a new space company to fit in the middle ground between start-ups and the big prime contractors. The firm acquired Deep Space Systems and ADCole Space, established makers of spacecraft components, and just this week announced the acquisition of Made in Space, a company attempting to manufacture unique goods in low-earth orbit. Fittingly, Made in Space’s flagship product are ultra-efficient fiber-optic cables made in microgravity, and Redwire’s name is a play on the most important part of an electrical system—”never cut the red wire.” The firm isn’t done snapping up space companies, either. “We’ll be very acquisitive going forward as well, we’re just getting started,” Redwire CEO Peter Cannito said. (6/25)

OneWeb Investor SoftBank Moves to Sell Other Business (Source: CNBC)
SoftBank plans to sell the bulk of its stake in T-Mobile in an effort to raise $21 billion to recover from past investments that soured. SoftBank said June 22 it will sell up to 198 million shares of T-Mobile, representing 65% of its stake in the mobile network operator. SoftBank was the largest investor in OneWeb, a satellite megaconstellation company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. SoftBank announced in March it would sell or monetize up to $41 billion in assets to buy back shares and deleverage. (6/24)

Peraton to Provide SATCOM for US Central Command (Source: C4ISRnet)
Peraton will provide commercial satellite communications services for U.S. Central Command after receiving a new $56 million contract, the company announced June 18. Under the contract, which was awarded by the Space Force’s Future Commercial SATCOM Acquisition program, Peraton will provide mission support for mobile platforms It will also provide bandwidth for mission operations, survivability, and diversification within the area of responsibility. (6/23)

Mars Mission Is Next Step in Intensifying Middle East Space Race (Source: Bloomberg)
The two Gulf kingdoms have made space part of far-reaching plans to modernize and diversify their economies. Their moves in this direction, though, haven’t prevented persistent accusations of human-rights abuses at home and criticism of their ongoing involvement in Yemen’s civil war. The question, for many, is whether there’s real substance to the drive for space, or if it’s intended mostly to revise global perceptions. (6/24)

Swamp Watch: Once-Bankrupt Ligado Wins With Hired Hands Close to Trump (Sources: Bloomberg, Open Secrets)
Ligado Networks LLC overcame powerful opposition to its proposed broadband network with help from inside-the-Beltway figures close to President Donald Trump. Despite DoD and DoT opposition, the company prevailed with a costly persuasion campaign overseen by a blue-chip roster of lobbyists and board members. The Ligado influence effort is led by conservative lobbyist Matt Schlapp, has been thriving since Trump took office. Schlapp is a vocal Trump defender on cable networks and regularly lobbies the president’s office. Schlapp’s wife, Mercedes Schlapp, serves as a senior official on the Trump re-election campaign. (6/25)

FCC Cracks Under Hill Pressure On Ligado 5G Network (Source: Breaking Defense)
As opposition mounts from Capitol Hill — as well as a wider swath of civil GPS users — to the FCC’s approval of Ligado’s controversial 5G network, at least one of the five commissioners now says she’d be willing to consider reversing the decision. During a Senate oversight hearing today, Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she would support a stay of the FCC’s decision — that would then allow reconsideration of the approval. The FCC’s April 20 finding allows Ligado to use its L-band spectrum allocation — originally slated for use by a satellite constellation — for a terrestrial 5G wireless network.

“Out of respect for you and your colleagues who have said that they’re concerned about this…If the chairman was interested in circulating a decision to us staying the decision we recently reached on the L-Band, that would certainly be something I would support because we’ve got to iron this kind of stuff out if we really want to have a big and bold 5G future,” she told the Senate Commerce Committee today. (6/25)

Ohio Seeks to Attract Space Command Headquarters (Source: WLWT)
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has backed a plan to bring the U.S. Space Command headquarters to Ohio. The governor announced Tuesday that he has endorsed the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the surrounding Dayton region as the ideal location for the new U.S. Space Command Headquarters. DeWine sent a letter to the assistant secretary of the Air Force on Tuesday endorsing the nomination originally submitted by Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone. The motion also has widespread support from area county commissioners and mayors.

"Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton region would be excellent hosts for the U.S. Space Command's new headquarters," said DeWine. "This area is already home to the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, and Air Force Materiel Command. It's a powerful combination and a synergy that you can't find anywhere else. (6/24)

China Threatens U.S. Space Power by Completing Satellite Network (Source: Bloomberg)
A Long March-3B rocket took off from a launchpad in Sichuan province Tuesday to put a satellite in orbit, giving China a win in its intensifying rivalry with the U.S. and boosting its ability to be self-reliant in new technologies. The five-ton satellite is the final piece of the Beidou network, a collection of several dozen satellites that is China’s alternative to the U.S.-run Global Positioning System. GPS provides navigation and timing data that is essential to operating everything from massive container ships to electric cars while also tracking the microchip in your dog. (6/24)

Race In Space (Source: WMFE)
Protests across the country have highlighted systemic racism and turned the national conversation towards equality and justice. So how does racial inequality affect space exploration? We’ll speak with Jarard Williams, a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law about equality in space and the effort to inspire more diverse explorers. Williams recently gave a lecture called “The Dark Star: Black Representation in Space” on racial inequality in the space industry. Click here. (6/23) https://www.wmfe.org/race-in-space/157515

Attack Ads Questioning Astronaut Mark Kelly's Patriotism are Ridiculous (Source: Arizona Central)
Recently we’ve been seeing these attack ads against Mark Kelly from Sen. Martha McSally and the groups that support her. We’ve seen Martha McSally smear her opponents before, and now she has gone as far as to say that Mark is weak on China or beholden to them. That’s ridiculous. We know Mark Kelly. Like Mark, we took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and we served with him in the same squadron in the U.S. Navy and flew into combat together during Operation Desert Storm.

Questioning Mark Kelly’s patriotism and loyalty to this country is completely out of bounds, and downright shameful. We were stationed together with Mark in Japan aboard the USS Midway. Why do we station an aircraft carrier on the other side of the world? To counter China’s growing influence in the region and ensure that, if the need arises, we can go to war and protect our allies and interests. We saw this firsthand. We trained to go to war against China if necessary. This is the Mark Kelly we know. We didn’t go to war against China, but we did go to war against Saddam Hussein’s brutal dictatorship in Iraq after he invaded Kuwait. Mark flew combat missions off of the deck of the USS Midway in the Gulf to deliver payloads on targets in Iraq and Kuwait with us. (6/24)

Another Hungarian Astronaut to be Sent to Space In 2025? (Source: Hungary Today)
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, recently held talks with Dozrij Olegovics Rogozin, director of Roscosmos, the Russian state space research company, on sending a Hungarian astronaut into space again in 2025 at the latest, who will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in a 2024-2025 joint Russian-Hungarian space project.

Currently, there are three Russian space research projects that involve Hungarian technological value-added, which include producing micro-satellite fleets and new equipment for the ISS. However, at the end of last year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a European Space Agency ministerial conference in Seville that Hungary plans to send an astronaut into space in 2024. (6/24)

Russia Announces New Space Tourist Visits to ISS, Including Spacewalk (Source: Russian Space Web)
According to Roscosmos, two space tourists have signed up to make a short visit to the International Space Station in 2023 aboard a Soyuz spacecraft piloted by one cosmonaut. One of the tourists will perform a spacewalk during the trip, accompanied by a professional cosmonaut. (6/25)

Griffin Departure Raises Questions About SDA Future (Source: Space News)
The impending departure of Mike Griffin from the Pentagon raises questions about the future of the Space Development Agency (SDA). Griffin, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, announced this week he will resign along with his deputy, Lisa Porter, for an unnamed private sector opportunity. Griffin has been the leading proponent for the SDA, which he characterized as a "personal cause." Griffin's resignation leaves the SDA without a major advocate inside the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which could accelerate the transfer of the agency to the U.S. Space Force. Griffin had been fighting efforts in recent months to speed up that transfer, arguing that it should wait until after the SDA deploys an initial constellation of communications satellites. (6/25)

ISS Spacewalks to Replace Batteries (Source: Space News)
NASA will start a series of spacewalks outside the International Space Station Friday, taking advantage of the Demo-2 astronauts on the station. Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy will perform the first in a set of at least four spacewalks Friday to replace batteries on the station's power system. A second spacewalk is scheduled for July 1, with others planned for later in July. NASA proposed carrying out the spacewalks while Behnken and Doug Hurley were on the station during the Demo-2 mission, supplementing Cassidy and their two Russian crewmates, provided the spacecraft could remain at the station for an extended period. The agency said that the Crew Dragon spacecraft is doing well during the Demo-2 mission to date, and should stay at the station until at least early August. (6/25)

JWST Schedule Slip to Tap Budget Reserves (Source: Space News)
NASA expects that the cost of the latest James Webb Space Telescope schedule slip can be covered by existing budget reserves. At a committee meeting Wednesday, project officials said a revised launch date for JWST, which has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, should be set next month. The project has sufficient budget reserves to cover a slip of several months, and thus not require additional funding beyond what Congress has authorized. At the same committee meeting, representatives of the SOFIA airborne observatory said the pandemic forced them to cancel a scheduled deployment to New Zealand, similar to what it has done in past years. SOFIA is working on plans to resume flights from California, and the project hopes those flights can begin in mid-July. (6/25)

Mars 2020 Launch Date Slips Again (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
The launch of NASA's Mars 2020 mission has slipped two days. NASA announced Wednesday that the launch of the mission, carrying the Perseverance rover, was delayed to July 22 because of a processing delay as the spacecraft was being placed in its payload fairing. The launch previously slipped three days because of a problem with a crane used in launch vehicle processing. The mission's launch window runs through at least Aug. 11. (6/25)

India Plans Major Space Program Privatization (Source: Hindustan Times)
India's space agency ISRO has announced details about how it will implement a policy to privatize the country's space program. In a speech Thursday, K. Sivan, chairman of ISRO, said he welcomed reforms announced by the Indian government last month to open up space activities to more private sector involvement. Those efforts include establishing a new organization, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), that will coordinate use of ISRO facilities and other infrastructure by companies. IN-SPACe should begin operations in the next three to six months, Sivan said. (6/25)

ESA to Select New Leader by Year's End (Source: ESA)
The European Space Agency plans to select its next leader by the end of the year. The ESA Council decided at a meeting that concluded Wednesday to open a two-month application period, starting a process that should allow the agency's member states to select a new director general by the end of the year. Jan Woerner, the current director general, announced earlier this year he would not seek a second term after his current term expires next June. ESA also announced it has hired Elodie Viau, an executive with satellite operator SES, as its new director of telecommunications.  (6/25)

Thales Alenia to Build Structures for Commercial Space Station (Source: Space.com)
Thales Alenia Space will build the structures for Axiom Space's first commercial space station modules. The contract, announced Wednesday, covers construction of the primary structure for a node module and habitation module that will initially be installed on the ISS but can later be detached to serve as a stand-alone commercial space station. NASA awarded Axiom access to a docking port on the station for those commercial modules in January, with Thales part of Axiom's team. (6/25)

Nonpartisan But Political (Source: The Politic)
The SLS program has cost over 30 percent more than the original Congress-approved agency baseline commitment of $7 billion, due in part to Boeing’s production issues. It would have been less expensive to purchase multiple Falcon Heavy rockets from SpaceX, and there is no evidence that the SLS is any safer than the other companies’ rockets. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), stated in a press release, “Making good use of commercial partnerships lowers the long-term cost of space exploration, and it allows the American aerospace industry to do what it does best—innovate.”

While space may not be a partisan issue, favoring innovation by Boeing over the innovation being done by a number of other companies definitely renders it political. What should matter in these circumstances is which company has the safest, most innovative design, especially when the crafts will be carrying Americans to the Moon, and hopefully to Mars.

Money in politics is not a new problem; some would say that it’s just the way the game is played. But setting rules on scientific innovation meant to advance our country—and all of humanity—based on the company most willing to give you money hinders all progress. Thus, it’s no wonder NASA didn’t choose to foll

US Needs New Policies With Move To Cislunar: Aerospace Corp. (Source: Breaking Defense)
As America moves beyond Earth’s orbit and expands operations to the Moon, space operators face the specter of the same crowding and pollution problems now bedeviling current space operations in orbits that are even more fragile, a new Aerospace Corporation study warns. Further, if many countries rapidly expand their commercial and military cislunar operations — as that region of space is known —  without sufficient forethought about how to manage space traffic and access to limited orbits this could raise risks for military conflict. (6/16)

SpaceX Readies for Next Full-Scale Starship Test at Texas Site (Source: Teslarati)
SpaceX has at long last transported its fifth full-scale Starship prototype to a nearby launch pad, kicking off a week of busy pre-test preparations while the sixth rocket is already nipping at its heels. Starship SN5’s move to the pad ends the longest gap between full-scale prototype testing since Starship Mk1 was destroyed in November 2019, a partially-expected failure that began a more than three-month period of infrastructure upgrades.

The first upgraded Starship (SN1) rolled to the pad on February 25th, followed by SN3 on March 29th and SN4 on April 23rd, indicative of a fairly consistent monthly cadence of Starship production (and destruction). Almost exactly two months after its predecessor headed from the factory to SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas launch facilities, Starship SN5 has taken its place on a brand new launch mount. (6/25)

Gilmour Space Achieves 45-Second Milestone in Latest Hybrid Rocket Engine Test (Source: Space Daily)
Australia's leading rocket company has reached another milestone in its mission to launch small satellites to space by 2022. Rocket engineers at Gilmour Space Technologies in Queensland, Australia, have completed the first in a series of major technology demonstrations this year: a successful 45-second 'hot fire' of their upper-stage hybrid rocket engine. (6/25)

Hopping Robot Could Explore the Solar System's Icy Moons (Source: Space Daily)
Steam locomotion may sound like an antiquated way to get around, but it might be getting a science fiction makeover as we expand our reach into the solar system. A novel robotic concept being investigated at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California would use steam propulsion to hop across the sort of icy terrains found on Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Both are thought to host vast subsurface oceans of salty water under a thick ice crust. But while that makes them fascinating destinations for scientific study, the little we know about their surfaces could also make navigating them especially challenging. That's where the Steam Propelled Autonomous Retrieval Robot for Ocean Worlds, or SPARROW, comes in. About the size of a soccer ball, the robot consists of a system of thrusters, avionics and instruments encased in a protective spherical cage. To keep the environment pristine for study, SPARROW would run not on rocket fuel but on steam produced from melted ice, traveling primarily through the air via short thrusts. (6/25)

Search for Benzene Contamination on Space Station to Resume in July (Source: Sputnik)
The search for a source of toxic benzene in the atmosphere of the ISS will resume at the end of July after the delivery of the new US air quality monitor. "Since there is only one such device at the station and it is impossible to repair it in orbit, it was decided to send the new AQM to the ISS on the Progress MS-15 spacecraft", a source said. On Tuesday, NASA reported that the month-long search for the benzene source had to be stopped due to the failure of the US Air Quality Monitor 1 while taking measurements in the Russian segment of the space station. Last week, the ventilation systems between the Russian and US segments of the stations were split to try to determine the benzene's source.

On 20 May, Roscosmos reported heightened benzene concentrations inside the space station, a week-and-a-half before the expected arrival of a NASA SpaceX Crew Dragon with two US astronauts onboard. The search continued in June, with NASA claiming the increase in concentrations could be caused by the air filters installed in one of the American modules on board the station. Benzene, an organic chemical compound, is a colourless liquid with a specific sweet smell. It is a natural constituent of crude oil and is used in the production of drugs, plastics, dyes and rubbers. Benzene is carcinogenic and toxic. (6/25)

Dragon Capsule to Return Astronauts with Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico Splashdown (Source: Ars Technica)
After a flawless launch from Florida, the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken docked with the International Space Station a little more than three weeks ago. Before this flight of Dragonship Endeavour, one of the biggest questions from engineers at NASA and SpaceX concerned the durability of the spacecraft. The first Crew Dragon spacecraft launched on an uncrewed test flight in 2019 and spent less than a week attached to the space station. NASA hoped this Dragon could last a few months in space.

In particular, the engineers were not sure how quickly Endeavour's solar panels would degrade and accordingly produce less power. Therefore, since the spacecraft docked to the station, it has been powered up once a week to test power output from the solar panels. So far, said the manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, Steve Stich, the panels are producing more power than expected.

The current plan is to bring the crew home about six weeks from now, possibly as early as August 2. Where Dragon lands when it returns to Earth will depend partly on weather, but NASA has options in both the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico. (6/24)