February 24, 2021

A Solar Panel in Space is Collecting Energy that Could One Day Be Beamed to Anywhere on Earth (Source: CNN)
Scientists working for the Pentagon have successfully tested a solar panel the size of a pizza box in space, designed as a prototype for a future system to send electricity from space back to any point on Earth. The panel -- known as a Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module (PRAM) -- was first launched in May 2020, attached to the Pentagon's X-37B unmanned drone, to harness light from the sun to convert to electricity. The drone is looping Earth every 90 minutes.

The panel is designed to make best use of the light in space, which doesn't pass through the atmosphere, and so retains the energy of blue waves, making it more powerful than the sunlight that reaches Earth. Blue light diffuses on entry into the atmosphere, which is why the sky appears blue. "We're getting a ton of extra sunlight in space just because of that," said Paul Jaffe, a co-developer of the project. The latest experiments show that the 12x12-inch panel is capable of producing about 10 watts of energy for transmission, Jaffe told CNN. That's about enough to power a tablet computer. (2/23)

Why the National Space Council Matters (Source: Space News)
The fact that Perseverance could be joined by a Chinese rover later this year highlights the growing space competition between the U.S. and strategic rivals. The United States needs a whole-of-government approach to address these and other emerging issues in the space domain. This does not require the creation of a new bureaucracy. Instead, President Biden should reestablish the National Space Council, which has proved highly successful. Doing so would keep space issues on the radar of our nation’s highest officials and encourage the coordination necessary to solve problems that cut across multiple federal agencies.

Federal law requires a National Space Council to be chaired by the Vice President and to include the heads of seven departments and agencies, including the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation, and Commerce, and the NASA Administrator. Any principal with a role in space would have a seat at the table — even the Secretaries of Energy and Homeland Security. Such high-level focus on space is necessary given its growing importance to our economy and national security.

The global space economy amounts to $400 billion today and is expected to reach $3 trillion by 2040. American companies are leading the way in cutting-edge space industries ranging from in-space manufacturing to on-orbit satellite servicing. Restoring the National Space Council would keep government focused on ways to maintain America’s edge in space while providing a forum for industry leaders and researchers to engage with policymakers. (2/23)

Space Coast Congressman Endorses Nelson to Lead NASA (Source: Florida Today)
Florida Rep. Bill Posey (R) of the state's Space Coast, has voiced his support for the idea of appointing former Florida US Senator Bill Nelson to lead NASA. "I think Bill Nelson would be a great NASA Administrator and I can’t think of anyone better President Biden could appoint to that position," he told Florida Today. (2/24)

China Launches Reconnaissance Satellites (Source: Space News)
China launched a trio of ocean reconnaissance satellites Tuesday night. The Long March 4C lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 9:22 p.m. Eastern and deployed three Yaogan-31 satellites. The satellites are the third group of Yaogan-31 triplets, thought to be used to locate and track naval vessels. The previous two groups were launched in April 2018 and January 2021. (2/24)

SpaceX's Failed Landing Due to 'Heat Damage' (Source: Space News)
A SpaceX official said that a Falcon 9 booster that failed to land on its most recent launch suffered "heat damage." During a panel discussion at the Spaceport Summit Tuesday, Hans Koenigsmann said the failed landing during the Feb. 15 launch "has to do with heat damage" but declined to give more details, citing an ongoing investigation the company hoped to soon wrap up. SpaceX is preparing for another Falcon 9 launch as soon as this weekend. The booster that failed was on its sixth flight, but other boosters have flown up to eight times and Koenigsmann said he believed boosters could fly 10 or more times. (2/24)

DARPA Orders Six More Blackjack Satellites From Blue Canyon (Source: Space News)
DARPA ordered six more satellites from Blue Canyon Technologies. The $26.5 million contract option is in addition to four satellites the agency ordered last June under a $14.1 million contract. The spacecraft are for DARPA's Blackjack program, a project to demonstrate a mesh network of small satellites in low Earth orbit. DARPA plans to start deploying a constellation by late 2022. (2/24)

No Timetable for NASA Leadership Decision (Source: Space News)
The White House said Tuesday it has no schedule for nominating a NASA administrator. At a briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she could not offer "any expectation of when we'll have an announcement on a NASA administrator" or identify any potential candidates. The statement came in response to rumors the White House was considering former senator Bill Nelson for the job. Nelson, who spent 18 years in the Senate, successfully pushed the Obama administration to nominate Charles Bolden for NASA administrator in 2009, but led opposition to the Trump administration's nomination of Jim Bridenstine for the post in 2017.

Nelson, a career politician, said at the time that NASA should not be led by a political figure but instead by "a consummate space professional who is technically and scientifically competent and is a skilled executive." Editor's Note: Another familiar name being suggested for the post is Lori Garver, who served as NASA's deputy administrator during the Obama administration. (2/24)

EcbhoStar Delays Satellite Launch (Source: Space News)
EchoStar said Tuesday the launch of its Jupiter-3 broadband satellite had slipped to the latter half of 2022. In a quarterly earnings call, executives said restrictions related to the pandemic as well as production issues "with certain components" led to the delay of the launch of the large GEO satellite. EchoStar has selected the launch vehicle for Jupiter-3 but has not yet announced it. EchoStar also said two nanosatellites it recently launched on a rideshare mission to test an S-band internet-of-things service failed because of malfunctions in their propulsion systems. EchoStar purchased the two S-band satellites from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, which blamed the failure on a third-party propulsion system. (2/24)

Congress Wants Non-Classified Info on Space System Threats From China and Russia (Source: Space News)
Members of Congress want the Pentagon to talk more openly about threats to space systems posed by China and Russia. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee, said at a hearing Tuesday that most of the conversations on this topic are held in classified settings, which does not allow for an open debate on U.S. national security priorities and spending. Cooper called for more open discussions of those threats "so that the public can be included in the debate." (2/24)

SpaceX Confirms $850 Million Funding Round (Source: Space News)
SpaceX confirmed its latest funding round Tuesday. In an SEC filing, SpaceX said it raised $850 million, but provided few other details about the round. Recent reports stated that the round valued SpaceX at $74 billion, a significant increase from its previous round last August. SpaceX continues to raise money from private sources, but Elon Musk suggested earlier this month the company would be willing to spin out its Starlink system into a publicly traded one "once we can predict cash flow reasonably well." (2/24)

SpaceX Prepares for SN10 Starship Test (Source: Space.com)
SpaceX performed a static-fire test of its latest Starship prototype, but the vehicle is not ready for flight yet. The SN10 vehicle fired its Raptor engines for several seconds late Tuesday afternoon at the company's Boca Chica test site. While the test appeared to go as expected, Musk tweeted overnight that the company that one of the engines is "suspect" and will be replaced, likely delaying a test flight that had been expected for as soon as Thursday. (2/24)

MEI Picked to Support Vulcan Certification (Source: Space News)
The Space Force selected Millennium Engineering and Integration to support certification of ULA's Vulcan rocket. The $13.2 million award covers systems engineering and integration services to support the Space Force's work to certify the Vulcan, including its BE-4 engine from Blue Origin, for national security missions. The award is part of an estimated $55 million contract the company won in 2018 for engineering services related to the certification of Vulcan and the now-canceled Northrop Grumman OmegA rocket. (2/24)

NASA Was Victim of SolarWinds Hack (Source: Washington Post)
NASA is among the federal government agencies affected by a massive cybersecurity breach. That SolarWinds hack is believed to involve Russia's foreign intelligence service, compromising computer networks at NASA and eight other agencies as well as many companies. A NASA spokesperson said that the agency is working with the Cyber­security and Infrastructure Security Agency on "mitigation efforts to secure NASA's data and network." (2/24)

China Begins Assembly of Long March 5B Heavy-Lift to Launch Core Space Station Module (Source: Space Daily)
The Long March 5B heavy-lift carrier rocket tasked with launching the core module of China's Space station arrived at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on Monday. The rocket will now be assembled and then undergo ground tests with the module at the coastal launch complex, the agency said in a brief statement, without elaborating. The mission is scheduled to take place in coming months. The module, named Tianhe, will be 16.6 meters long and have a diameter of 4.2 meters. It will be central to the space station's operations, given that astronauts will live there and control the entire station from inside. (2/23)

China Explores Space with Self-Reliance, Open Mind (Source: Space Daily)
Chinese President Xi Jinping met representatives of space scientists and engineers who participated in the research and development of the Chang'e-5 lunar mission in Beijing Monday. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, also visited an exhibition on the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 probe and the achievements of China's lunar explorations. (2/24)

China Probe Maneuvers to Parking Orbit in Advance of Lander Deployment (Source: Xinhua)
China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft has moved into a "parking orbit" around Mars. The China National Space Administration said the spacecraft performed a maneuver Tuesday, putting the spacecraft in an orbit of 280 by 59,000 kilometers. The spacecraft entered orbit around Mars earlier this month and has since performed two maneuvers to lower its orbit. The spacecraft, which will later deploy a lander carrying a rover, is expected to remain in this orbit for three months. (2/24)

'Space Bridge' Across the World Will Help UK and Australia Get Ahead in Global Space Race (Source: Space Daily)
The world's first Space Bridge will unlock improved access to trade, investment and academic research opportunities, better advice to businesses and innovative bilateral collaborations. The UK and Australia share future ambitions for space and have similar plans to increase the size and job creation potential of the sector. This agreement will further develop the longstanding relationship between the two countries which dates back to the 1970s when the Prospero satellite built in Farnborough, UK, launched from Woomera, South Australia.

The arrangement enhances cooperation between the UK Space Agency, UK Department for International Trade, Australian Trade and Investment Commission, and the Australian Space Agency, coordinating opportunities for the UK and Australian governments and companies to work on space-related activities, including sharing Earth Observation data to collaborating on robotic and artificial intelligence.

UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: The signing of today's Space Bridge partnership, a world's first, with one of our closet international allies, is another step forward in our ambition for the UK to become a globally-competitive space power. (2/24)

US Space Force Faces Pop Culture Ridicule (Source: Space Daily)
There are two things to think about in the relationship between today's pop culture and the Space Force: how existing sci-fi entertainment warps perceptions of the new military branch, and how those misconceptions lead to a comedic framing of the Space Force in culture today. Science fiction has long had a strong influence on how people perceive space, and this has carried over to the Space Force. Social media and news coverage of Space Force often include references to "Star Trek," "Star Wars," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Starship Troopers."

This isn't surprising. People naturally use analogies to understand new concepts; it's easier to understand new phenomena in terms of something you already know. Because the Space Force is a new service, people are turning to what they already know about fighting in space. The problem is that science fiction is far from the reality of what missions in space look like today.

The result of science fiction's influence, then, is that people have absorbed incorrect ideas about the Space Force - for instance, that it has its own astronauts or is building military bases on the Moon - without questioning the accuracy of these ideas. This leads to the second aspect of USSF's relationship to pop culture today: Online commentary, media coverage and entertainment have focused on humor at the expense of substantive discussion. (2/19)

ClimaCell, an Ambitious Private Weather Firm, Plans to Launch its Own Satellites (Source: Washington Post)
ClimaCell, a growing private weather company based in Boston whose customers include airlines, maritime shipping firms and everyday consumers, plans to spend $150 million during the next few years to launch its own satellite radar constellation. The goal, company leaders said in an interview, is to make its own forecasts more reliable, thereby benefiting its clients, the public through its weather app, and policymakers.

This aim contrasts with the business of most, if not all, space companies today that are pursuing weather applications. These firms, such as GeoOptics and Spire, have business models based on selling the data for others to use in forecasting the weather, with customers that include federal agencies. However, ClimaCell would use its own technology, which already includes proprietary weather modeling, to take advantage of the data it gathers from space.

The end result, if all goes well, would be a vertically integrated weather company whose operations range from generating its own data to sifting through that information using computer models and turning that into products aimed at improving how businesses operate. (2/24)

Raytheon Teams With Space Force to Study Ground System for New Satellites (Source: Executive Biz)
Raytheon Technologies' intelligence and space business will help the U.S. Space Force study a new ground segment system as the service branch seeks to update its fleet of high-frequency satellites. The company said Monday the effort is intended to construct modernized ground systems for new satellites that will support and eventually replace the existing Advanced Extremely High-Frequency system. (2/23)