July 24, 2020

Tesla Collaborating with SpaceX for Cybertruck Alloy (Source; MS Power User)
When Elon Musk announced his bullet-proof pickup truck, he promised the Cybertruck would be made of “nearly impenetrable … Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel.” Times have however moved on and the Cybertruck has evolved, and today Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that they will no longer be using 30X steel for the exo-skeleton of the truck.

Tesla is collaborating with one of Elon’s other companies, SpaceX, to create a custom alloy for both the Starship and Cybertruck. Elon Musk confirmed: "We’re rapidly changing alloy constituents and forming methods, so traditional names like 304L will become more of an approximation.” Whatever material Musk uses, one can be sure the eventual truck will live up to his promise of the ultimate post-apocalyptic transport. (7/23)

KSC Small Business Office Plans Aug. 4 Outreach (Source: NASA)
The Kennedy Space Center Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) will hold a virtual outreach event for small businesses interested in working with NASA. The event will address topics relevant to small business and feature NASA KSC Prime Contractor Board members and others. The event is targeted toward current GSA vendors and would be considered a tier 2 level training. This session will help you gain a stronger understanding of how to conduct reverse market research and fine tune your strategy to get in front of buyers and compete for future work. Click here. (7/23)

Arianespace Plans July 28 Launch of Ariane 5 (Source: Arianespace)
Arianespace’s first launch since the pandemic began is scheduled for July 28. An Ariane 5 rocket carrying three spacecraft is set to launch from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, between 5:29 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Eastern. The rocket will carry the Galaxy-30 satellite for Intelsat stacked atop Northrop Grumman’s second Mission Extension Vehicle, MEV-2, in its upper berth. Ariane 5’s lower berth will house the BSAT-4b satellite for Japanese operator BSAT, separated from the other payloads by a protective case. The rocket, built by ArianeGroup, has an increased payload capacity by 85 kilograms, one of the last upgrades to the Ariane 5 before its replacement by the next-generation Ariane 6 in 2021. (7/22)

Teledyne Reports $6 Million Revenue Loss Due to OneWeb Bankruptcy (Source: Teledyne)
Teledyne Technologies reported a $6 million drop in defense and space electronics revenue that it blamed on OneWeb, the megaconstellation startup that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. Teledyne said July 22 that the operating income for its Aerospace and Defense Electronics division, which includes space, was $17.5 million for the second quarter of 2020, down 54.7% from the same period last year because of lower sales and “severance and facility consolidation costs.”

A weak commercial aviation market also contributed to the decline, the company said. Overall, Teledyne reported $743.3 million in  second quarter 2020 net sales, down 4.9% from 2019. Teledyne supplies satellite components for OneWeb Satellites, the manufacturer of the OneWeb constellation, under a $95 million contract received in 2018. (7/22)

Miners on the Moon (Source: Air & Space)
A growing chorus of researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs say the surest path to the final frontier is paved with ice harvested from the moon. The consensus is that an ice house on the moon feeding a space-based fuel depot can be set up without exotic, sci-fi equipment—much of the technology can be adapted from terrestrial analogs or is already in industrial use. George Sowers is optimistic about the prospects for lunar mining and he has crunched the numbers.

“If you had a lunar propellant available, at the prices I think that it can be offered for, then the cost to go from Earth to the lunar surface would be reduced by a factor of three,” he says. And that’s just by refueling en route. The cost to go from Earth to the Lunar Gateway—a proposed small spacecraft that would orbit the moon and serve as living quarters and a transportation hub—would be “reduced by a factor of two.” Sowers saves the best for last. “The cost to come back from the moon,” he says, “would be reduced by a factor of 70.”

If a company were to set up a lunar mining operation, after 10 years of operation, Sowers estimates, it would see returns of between 10 percent and 30 percent, depending on whether government agencies kick in some of the funding. Ice hunters will need follow-up missions to confirm how much water ice is on the moon and where it’s located. Unfortunately, satellite data won’t do the trick, says Kevin Cannon, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Central Florida who has written a paper for non-academics titled “Ice Prospecting: Your Guide to Getting Rich on the Moon.” (7/23)

How To Be Alone (Source: This American Life)
In space, in the ocean, by ourselves, or with others—we’re all just figuring out how to be apart. Guest host Bim Adewunmi sits in for Ira Glass and talks to retired NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao about how a space mission compares with living alone in a one-bed apartment on earth. Click here. (7/17)

Russia Launches Supplies to ISS in Record Time (Source: Spaceflight Insider)
A Russian Progress MS-15 cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station in a reported record time to deliver supplies and experiments to the Expedition 63 crew, despite a last-second misalignment. Launching Thursday atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Progress MS-15 spacecraft rendezvoused with the orbiting outpost and docked with the Pirs module just 3 hours, 19 minutes and 31 seconds later at 17:45 UTC.

“Set another world record for flight speed...!” Dmitry Rogozin, the director general of Roscosmos, tweeted shortly after docking. There was, however, a last-second misalignment between the spacecraft and the docking port. At one point Expedition 63 cosmonaut Anatoli Ivanishin asked if he should switch to manual control. But the Progress corrected itself and successfully autonomously docked moments later with no reported issues post-capture. It is unclear what caused the misalignment. (7/23)

SpaceX Satellites Ruin Perfectly Good View of Comet NEOWISE (Source: Gizmodo)
Nowhere is safe from light pollution, not even space. On Wednesday, astrophotographer Daniel López shared a photo he captured of Comet NEOWISE the day before at Teide National Park on the Canary Islands. However, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites ruined the image, painting streaks across the otherwise largely pristine sky. This is the satellites’ latest intrusion into the world of astronomy. Greater concerns around the inescapable presence of light have existed on planet Earth for years, but human-made illumination is starting to pollute the edges of the planet, too. Astronomers are facing challenges when these satellites pop up and pollute images they take of far-off galaxies and, now, comets. Click here. (7/23)

No Longer in Shadows, Pentagon’s U.F.O. Unit Will Make Some Findings Public (Source: New York Times)
Despite Pentagon statements that it disbanded a once-covert program to investigate unidentified flying objects, the effort remains underway — renamed and tucked inside the Office of Naval Intelligence, where officials continue to study mystifying encounters between military pilots and unidentified aerial vehicles. Pentagon officials will not discuss the program, which is not classified but deals with classified matters. Yet it appeared last month in a Senate committee report outlining spending on the nation’s intelligence agencies for the coming year.

The report said the program, the Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon Task Force, was “to standardize collection and reporting” on sightings of unexplained aerial vehicles, and was to report at least some of its findings to the public every six months. While retired officials involved with the effort — including Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader — hope the program will seek evidence of vehicles from other worlds, its main focus is on discovering whether another nation, especially any potential adversary, is using breakout aviation technology that could threaten the United States.

Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is the acting chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told a CBS affiliate in Miami this month that he was primarily concerned about reports of unidentified aircraft over American military bases — and that it was in the government’s interest to find out who was responsible. He expressed concerns that China or Russia or some other adversary had made “some technological leap” that “allows them to conduct this sort of activity.” (7/23)

NASA Safety Panel Remains Concerned About Boeing Starliner, Backs SpaceX Boostere/Capsule Reuse (Source: Space News)
A NASA safety panel says it still has concerns about Boeing's commercial crew spacecraft. Members of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel discussed at a meeting Thursday the outcomes of various reviews into last December's uncrewed test flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, which encountered several problems. While NASA and Boeing are implementing the recommendations from those reviews, the panel noted it was concerned "about quality control problems that seemingly have plagued the Boeing commercial crew program." The panel, by contrast, praised SpaceX for its success to date on the Demo-2 mission and cautiously backed plans to reuse boosters and capsules on later SpaceX commercial crew missions. (7/24)

White House Releases "Whole-of-Government" Approach to Space Exploration and Development (Source: Space News)
The White House released a report Thursday outlining its "whole-of-government" approach to space exploration and development. The report by the National Space Council states that while NASA remains the primary U.S. government organization for civil space exploration, "other departments and agencies have increasingly important roles to play in space." The report discusses the roles NASA and other agencies will play in implementing missions, developing technologies, and providing regulatory oversight for commercialization of low Earth orbit, returning humans to the moon and future missions to Mars. An administration official said the report will help better describe the government's overall strategy, particularly when working with potential international partners. (7/24)

Senate Defense Bill Amendment Removes Launcher Procurement Language to Avoid Bidder Protests (Source: Space News)
The Senate passed its version of a defense authorization bill after removing a provision regarding launch. The National Defense Authorization Act passed on a 86—14 vote Thursday after floor debate and amendments. One amendment removed a section of the bill related to the acquisition strategy for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch services procurement and the "distribution of launches" under that program. Sources said the Air Force had asked for the wording to be changed out of concern that it would lead to lawsuits or protests from launch providers that were not awarded Phase 2 contracts. (7/24)

Countdown to UK Space Launches in 2022 (Source: AeroSociety)
At a session on UK spaceports, there was much excitement about the first-ever orbital space launch for British soil, set to be in 2022 from Spaceport Cornwall. This will see Virgin Orbit use a modified Boeing 747 to air-launch a pathfinder payload, using its Launcher One rocket.

Andrew Kuh, Head of International Spaceflight Policy, UK Space Agency, revealed that a key US-UK agreement, in the form of the Technology Safeguards Agreement had now been signed, which removed a major obstacle to US space companies bound by MCTR and ITAR technology regulations. This treaty (which still needs Parliament to approve) now means that US companies will be able to launch from UK soil. Some operational 'overheads', such as US-only secure areas, will still be required and operators will need both FAA and UK launch licences - though mutual recognition is planned.

With this capability (which also includes other spaceports in the UK), the UK is aiming to beat rivals to be the first Western European country to offer direct access to orbit from its soil in a new commercial space race. As Ian Annett, Deputy CEO, UK Space Agency, notes: "This is a bit of race within Europe. We mustn't think of it as a pedestrian, 'we'll get to it when we can' - it's a really exciting and cool race". (7/24)

SpaceX Raising $1 Billion, Valuing Company at $44 Billion (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX is seeking to raise another $1 billion at an increased valuation. Industry sources say the company is in talks with investors to raise the money in a deal that would value the company at $44 billion. The company's last funding round valued the company at $36 billion. The deal is not expected to close in the immediate future, however, and terms could change. (7/23)

Democratic Space Platform Suggests No Major Changes for NASA (Source: Space News)
A draft version of the Democratic Party platform suggests a Biden administration would not make major changes to NASA. The draft platform includes one paragraph on NASA, saying that the party is "committed to continuing space exploration and discovery" and backing continued operation of the ISS and increased Earth science activities. The platform also supports "NASA's work to return Americans to the moon and go beyond to Mars," but does not explicitly endorse the 2024 date set by the Trump administration. Joe Biden has said little about space policy during the campaign beyond a statement congratulating NASA and SpaceX for the Demo-2 launch, where he said he would look forward "to advancing America's commitment to pursuing space exploration." (7/24)

Michigan Spaceport Effort Moves Forward with Site Selection (Source: Detroit Free Press)
A Michigan organization has selected a site in the Upper Peninsula as a potential spaceport. The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association announced Thursday it has identified a site north of Marquette as its preferred location for a spaceport. The facility would host launches of small launch vehicles that fly north over Lake Superior. The site could be ready to begin operations in 2025, although the announcement offered few details about how the project would be funded. (7/24)

Universal Interested in Cruise Space Movie (Source: Variety)
Universal Pictures is reportedly interested in a Tom Cruise movie that would be filmed in space. The studio is in negotiations for the unnamed film that would star Cruise and have portions of it filmed on the ISS. One challenge will be the budget, which in "the most optimistic projections" would cost at least $200 million. Other issues that the project needs to address, according to the report, is getting insurance for Cruise and anyone else flying to space for the movie, as well as a lack of a script. (7/24)

First GEM 63 Solid Motors Delivered to Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Northrop Grumman has delivered the first 3 of their new 63-inch Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM 63) rocket motors to Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in preparation for their first launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The result of a contract award in 2015, the new motors serve as a more efficient and cheaper replacement to the current motor in use by the Atlas V rocket, the AJ-60A, a 60 inch diameter booster manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. (7/24)