March 26, 2021

Bolden on Nelson (Source: Politico)
One of Bill Nelson's former crewmates from the STS-61C shuttle flight argued that Biden passed up a chance to make history. “I’d still like to see the first woman in the job soon, but it’s not going to be right now,” former NASA Administrator and retired Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden told us. “I would have preferred to have seen a woman get the job. I love Bill Nelson and I respect him and think he’ll do a great job, it’s just my preference.”

Bolden, who was the first Black person to lead NASA, defended Nelson against criticism that he was not an early supporter of the commercial space industry, saying critics should “go back and read history and read the 2010 [NASA] authorization act” co-authored by Nelson, which codified NASA’s plans to use commercial providers to transport crew and cargo to the International Space Station.

He also predicted Nelson will benefit from his long-term knowledge of the nation’s space program, his close relationship with Biden and his political experience — something Bolden himself lacked and that he said “cost me my first two years.” (3/26)

NASA Gives All Clear: Earth sSafe From Asteroid for 100 Years (Source: AP)
Whew, now here’s some good cosmic news: NASA has given Earth the all clear for the next century from a particularly menacing asteroid. The space agency announced this week that new telescope observations have ruled out any chance of Apophis smacking Earth in 2068. That’s the same 1,100-foot (340-meter) space rock that was supposed to come frighteningly close in 2029 and again in 2036. NASA ruled out any chance of a strike during those two close approaches a while ago. But a potential 2068 collision still loomed. First detected in 2004, Apophis is now officially off NASA’s asteroid “risk list.” (3/26)

A Biden Administration Strategy: Send In the Scientists (Source: New York Times)
More than a decade ago, a woman at a bar near the Columbia University campus turned to Gavin Schmidt and asked if he knew the main component of air. “Yes, nitrogen,” he replied. His answer lost her a bet about whether the average stranger at the bar would know anything about atmospheric chemistry. Two years later, they were married. Sometimes the nerds win.

Today Dr. Schmidt is one of the most prominent scientists warning the world about the risks of a warming world. Recently he was named to a newly created position as senior climate adviser to NASA, a job that comes with the challenge of bringing NASA’s climate science to the public and helping figure out how to apply it to saving the planet.

Dr. Schmidt, who since 2014 had headed NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will be working with an administration that is making the fight against climate change one of its priorities. The Biden team is adding positions throughout the government for policymakers and experts like Dr. Schmidt who understand the threats facing our planet. (3/26)

House Panel Offers Plan to Double NSF Budget and Create Technology Directorate (Source: Science)
The science committee in the U.S. House of Representatives wants to more than double the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the next 5 years, devoting a sizeable chunk of the extra money to a new directorate that would accelerate the process of turning basic research into new technologies and products. But its version of a technology directorate would be much smaller and more in line with the way NSF traditionally funds research than the one already proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY), which emphasizes the economic and security threats posed by China.

The House bill, introduced today with bipartisan support, would lift NSF’s overall budget from the current $8.5 billion to $18.3 billion in 2026. In addition to growing the agency’s existing seven research and education directorates, the bill would create an eighth, called Science and Engineering Solutions (SES). Its budget would start at $1 billion in 2022 and grow to $5 billion by 2026. (3/26)

Full Nelson (Source: Quartz)
As a lawmaker, Nelson consistently brought home the bacon for Florida’s space coast. In 1986, he flew on a space shuttle mission, as the agency wooed the politicians responsible for NASA funding. There’s a lot to like about Nelson’s nomination. Washington watchers value the relationship between an agency leader and the president: Nelson’s service alongside Biden in the Senate means the future NASA chief will get his phone calls to the Oval Office returned. And there’s no arguing with Nelson’s decades of engagement with space policy.

But Nelson’s critics warn that he was wrong about the most important space development in the last quarter century: The rise of public-private partnerships that have returned the US to global dominance in satellite launch and human spaceflight. In 2009, Nelson fought a rearguard battle against the Obama administration’s push to expand commercial partnerships begun under president George W. Bush, blocking Obama’s initial appointees to the space agency.

Following Obama’s decision to cancel the Constellation program, Nelson fought to grandfather in the long-delayed SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft. NASA’s inspector general found that Congress provided just 38% of expected funding to the commercial crew program between 2011 and 2013. This added two years of delay to the SpaceX crew Dragon and Boeing’s still forthcoming Starliner. By the middle of the last decade, Nelson changed his tune: The future of KSC was now dependent on the private companies leasing what had formerly been government launch pads. SpaceX, Blue Origin, OneWeb, and other private firms poured investment into the space coast. (3/25)

Smart's Airless Bike Tires Use NASA Tech to Defeat Punctures (Source: Engadget)
For more than 50 years, NASA has been channeling its advanced tech into everyday products. The space agency's materials have crept into everything from memory foam mattresses to smartphone and digital camera image sensors. So, it was only a matter of time before its breakthrough tire tech was added to the long list of so-called NASA spinoffs. A startup called Smart is using the airless shape memory alloy (SMA) tire technology — originally built for lunar and Mars rovers —for a bicycle tire called Metl.

Composed of interconnected springs that don't require inflation, Smart claims the superelastic tires are built like titanium to withstand rugged terrains without going flat. Essentially, it's hoping that the prospect of a puncture-free ride can lure in eco-conscious cyclists sick of tossing rubber tubes in the trash. NASA's Glenn Research Center originally developed the SMA by modifying the typical elastic pneumatic tire material into memory alloys capable of withstanding severe reversible strain and deformation. NASA engineers set out to create a tire that could flexibly adapt to uneven lunar and martian terrain and spring back into its original shape. (3/24)

OneWeb Launches 36 Satellites From Russia (Source: Space News)
OneWeb launched three dozen satellites Wednesday night as it moves closer to beginning service in polar regions later this year. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia Wednesday, and its Fregat upper stage completed the deployment of 36 OneWeb satellites nearly four hours later. OneWeb said this launch was the second in a series of five launches that will deploy enough satellites to allow the company to provide broadband services north of 50 degrees latitude later this year. The full 648-satellite constellation will provide global service in 2022. (3/25)

BlackSky to Launch Eight Satellites on Electron (Source: Space News)
BlackSky will launch eight more satellites this year on Electron rockets in a deal announced Thursday. The eight satellites will be launched on four Electron missions later this year under a deal brokered through launch services company Spaceflight. A BlackSky satellite was launched earlier this week on an Electron rideshare mission and started collecting data within 24 hours. BlackSky said the eight satellites launching later this year were originally scheduled to fly in 2022, but the company moved them up when they were able to align production of the satellites with Rocket Lab's launch schedule. (3/25)

Redwire Going Public with SPAC Amid Boom in M&A (Source: Space News)
Redwire, a firm that has acquired a number of space technology companies, announced plans Thursday to public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC). Redwire will merge with Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a deal that will value it at $615 million and provide it with $170 million in cash.

Redwire, which is currently profitable, says it will use the proceeds for further acquisitions and growth in several strategic areas, from on-orbit manufacturing to space domain awareness. The deal, part of a wave of SPAC deals involving space companies in the last six months, is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.

Redwire has been part of a merger and acquisition (M&A) boom in the space industry. Besides Redwire, Voyager Space Holdings has acquired several space companies, with more deals in the works. The timing of these M&A deals is not surprising, since the surge in venture capital investments in space startups began several years ago, and those VC funds are now looking for returns. The M&A deals are also signs of a maturing industry, investors say. (3/15)

Orbex and Skyrora Win ESA Funding for Rocket Programs (Source: Space News)
Two launch vehicle startups in the United Kingdom have won funding from the European Space Agency. The contracts to Orbex and Skyrora, with a combined value of €10.45 million ($12.35 million), were awarded under Boost!, an ESA program that aims to foster new commercial space transportation services. Orbex received €7.45 million to support the development of avionics, software, and guidance, navigation and control systems for its Prime small launch vehicle. Skyrora received €3 million to qualify the liquid-fueled rocket engine for the first and second stages of its XL launch vehicle. (3/25)

Export Credit Agencies Seek Role in Space (Source: Space News)
Export credit agencies are looking to find a role in a changing space industry. Such agencies, like the Ex-Im Bank in the United States, came to the fore in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, helping space companies secure billions of dollars in funding as bank financing dried up and bond markets became problematic.

More attractive private financing options in recent years have diminished the influence of export credit agencies, but both industry observers and agencies themselves believe they can continue to play a role, particularly for businesses that do not have the right credit fundamentals to be able to rely on straight commercial lending. (3/25)

NASA Assembles Boosters for SLS at KSC (Source: Florida Today)
NASA has assembled the solid rocket boosters that will be used for the first Space Launch System mission. The two five-segment boosters have been stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, awaiting the arrival next month of the core stage from the Stennis Space Center for the Artemis 1 mission. That launch is expected for no earlier than late this year. (3/25)

Australia Grants Launch Site License at Koonibba Test Range (Source: InnovationAus)
The Australian government has issued its first launch site license. Southern Launch received the license from the Australian Space Agency for its Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. That site will be used for suborbital launches, and Southern Launch is working on approvals for a separate site for orbital launches. (3/25)