March 30, 2021

Starship Test Brings Another Landing Explosion at SpaceX Texas Site (Sources: SPACErePORT, Ars Technica)
SpaceX conducted its SN11 Starship prototype flight test on Tuesday morning at the company's Boca Chica launch site. In foggy low-visibility conditions, the Starship launched to an altitude of ~10 kilometers, but upon landing an explosion was heard and pieces of the rocket were observed during a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD).

At 5 minutes and 47 seconds into the flight, one of Starship's three Raptor engines relit to begin the final landing sequence, and then the engine-bay camera cut out in SpaceX's webcast. Contact with the vehicle was lost, at least in terms of live video pictures. Shortly after this, pieces of the Starship vehicle began raining down on the launch site. It is not clear whether the vehicle's flight termination system was activated to destroy the Starship before it veered off course. However, the remnants of the vehicle landed near their intended target. (3/30)

The Growing Case for Active Debris Removal (Source: Space Review)
Two satellites broke up in orbit in the last month, adding to the population of debris that poses a danger to space operations. Jeff Foust reports on the increasing call for efforts to remove existing debris, not just limit the creating of new debris. Click here. (3/29)
 
Space Force Sounds Like a Joke Thanks to Pop Culture: How That Could be a Problem for an Important Military Branch (Source: Space Review)
The US Space Force has an important mission protecting the country’s interests in space, but to many people, it sounds like a bad joke. Wendy Whitman Cobb explains how science fiction and comedy have shaped the public’s perceptions of the new service. Click here. (3/29)
 
Sustainable Space Manufacturing and Design Will Help Get Us to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond (Source: Space Review)
Much of the focus of the space industry has been on new launch vehicles and related technologies that promise to lower the cost and increase the frequency of space access. Dylan Taylor discusses why advances in in-space manufacturing technologies are also critical for humanity’s long-term future in space. Click here. (3/29)

Project Kraken Could Bring Thousands of Jobs to the Space Coast (Source: WFTV)
Space Florida is looking to bring more business to its launch and landing facility and more jobs to Central Florida. Right now, the agency is negotiating with an unnamed company interested in building a new spacecraft manufacturing facility. There is still no word on the company and the project is shrouded in secrecy. For now, the project has only been given the code name Project Kraken.

Space Florida is trying to come to an agreement with a company looking to invest nearly $300 million to establish a spacecraft manufacturing and support facility. “Bringing facilities there will bring in more people, bring in more investment and put people to work at good jobs. So that’ll help the local economy,” said Dr. Ken Kremer of Space Upclose.

Project Kraken could create at least 2,100 jobs by 2025, with estimated annual wages of about $85,000 plus benefits. There is plenty of speculation about which company is behind the proposed project. “SpaceX moving their Starlink facilities here? Which I kind of doubt, could be Amazon, something new. It could be Lockheed Martin that builds satellites and has a processing facility around the road. It could be L3 Harris, could be One Web. There are so many possibilities,” Kremer said. (3/29)

National Park Service: Camping at Cumberland Island Endangered by Spaceport Camden Plans (Source: Savannah Now)
Earlier this month the FAA issued an update on the status of the proposed Spaceport Camden. It sounded like good news for the facility that Camden County is trying to develop as an economic boost on a defunct industrial site less than 10 miles from Cumberland Island, but it didn't tell the whole story. Omitted were concerns the National Park Service holds about the spaceport's impact on island visitors. The NPS manages Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Spaceport Camden plans to launch rockets from an abandoned industrial site on the mainland over nearby residences on Little Cumberland Island and over Cumberland Island National Seashore, where there are permanent residents as well as overnight visitors. While the plans for a launch prescribe clearing the water of boats, the islands will not be evacuated. The latter issue was not addressed in an email blast from Stacey Zee, in the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

The National Park Service is not on board with the plan. "NPS believes there is a significant risk to (Cumberland Island National Seashore) that is not adequately addressed in the document," NPS Regional Director Stan Austin wrote to the FAA  in a four-page letter dated Dec. 10, 2020. (3/30)

Long Spaceflights and Endurance Swimming Can 'Shrink the Heart' (Source: BBC)
Spending very long periods of time in space has something in common with extreme endurance swimming: both can cause the heart to shrink. That's the conclusion of a study that compared the effects of astronaut Scott Kelly's year in space with a marathon swim by athlete Benoît Lecomte. Both remove the loads on the heart that are usually applied by gravity, causing the organ to atrophy.

Exercise wasn't enough in either case to counteract the changes to the heart. The research has implications for very long-duration journeys in space - such as the expeditions to Mars which NASA plans to mount in coming decades. Exercise, however, counteracts the process of mass loss. Astronauts on the ISS are already subjected to an intense exercise regime to mitigate the muscle and bone wastage that also occurs in orbit. Even so, this exercise regime wasn't enough to prevent the heart atrophy seen in astronaut Scott Kelly. (3/29)

Starship Test Postponed for FAA Inspector Availability (Source: Space News)
SpaceX postponed a Starship test flight Monday because an FAA inspector could not get to the launch site in time. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Monday that the inspector, required for FAA oversight of Starship launches, would not arrive in Boca Chica, Texas, in time for a test Monday, so the company postponed the test to Tuesday morning. The FAA amended its launch license for Starship test flights earlier in the month, adding the requirement that an FAA safety inspector be present for tests, after SpaceX violated conditions of that license during a December test.

Last week, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee and chairman of its aviation subcommittee wrote to the FAA to "register our concerns" regarding how the agency resolved that violation. They wrote that they were disappointed the FAA did not perform an independent review of the incident or assess civil penalties. (3/29)

NASA and China Shared Data on Mars Probes (Source: Space News)
NASA exchanged data with China regarding the orbits of their Mars spacecraft. NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk said last week that the agency obtained congressional approval to ask China for data on the orbit of the country's Tianwen-1 spacecraft, which arrived at Mars last month. NASA requested the data so it could perform conjunction assessments with other spacecraft in orbit around the planet. NASA obtained congressional approval for the discussions with China as required by the Wolf Amendment, which restricts bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese organizations. NASA said the "limited exchange of information is consistent with customary good practices" for spaceflight safety. (3/30)

SecDef Gets Briefing on Space Programs and Threats (Source: Space News)
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin received his first briefing on military space programs and threats to space assets last week. The March 25 briefing was led by John Hill, who is performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for space policy, and included representatives from the U.S. Space Force, Space Command and NRO. The briefing was intended to bring Austin up to date on space programs, the structure of the national security space enterprise and the challenges the United States faces in the space domain, according to several sources. A spokesman said the Pentagon couldn't go into details about the briefing but said Austin "understands the importance of this domain to our national security." (3/30)

Inmarsat Challenges Dutch Spectrum Plan (Source: Space News)
Inmarsat is taking legal action over plans by the Dutch government to open up satellite spectrum for 5G services. The company uses the 3.5 gigahertz band for maritime safety services, but the Dutch government is planning to sell that spectrum next year for terrestrial 5G services. Inmarsat said it will have to move a ground station in the Netherlands if that sale goes forward, as satellite and terrestrial 5G services can't coexist in that band. The satellite operator said it has tried to find an amicable solution for more than 18 months, but will now seek an injunction, through legal proceedings in a civil court in the Netherlands, to review the Dutch government's proposal. (3/30)
 
Virgin Galactic Unveils New "Spaceship III" Series (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic unveiled the first of a new line of suborbital vehicles Tuesday. VSS Imagine is the first of the "Spaceship III" series, which looks similar to SpaceShipTwo but incorporates changes to its structure and how it is manufactured, which will reduce its weight and speed up its production. Flight tests of VSS Imagine will begin this summer at Spaceport America in New Mexico, while a second Spaceship III, VSS Inspire, is built in Mojave, California. The company's SpaceShipTwo vehicle, VSS Unity, is undergoing work to address electromagnetic interference issues that aborted a test flight in December. The company says that vehicle is on track to make its next powered test flight in May. (3/30)

SpaceX Must Comply with Subpoena on Hiring Practices (Source: CNBC)
A federal judge recommended that SpaceX be required to comply with a subpoena regarding hiring practices. The report by Magistrate Judge Michael Wilner concluded that the Justice Department's subpoena for SpaceX employment data was "relevant and enforceable." The department sought the subpoena as part of an investigation into whether SpaceX discriminated against a job applicant based on that person's citizenship. SpaceX fought the subpoena, calling it "government overreach." (3/30)

Why We Need to Get Better at Predicting Space Weather (Source: Space Daily)
The Sun is the most important source of energy for sustaining life on Earth, but it gives us a lot more than just light and heat. It also gives us solar storms. Disturbances on the Sun, such as coronal mass ejections produced by solar flares that emanate from active sunspot regions, can cause solar storms. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections emit vast quantities of radiation and charged particles into space.

These events can damage the Earth's communication and power infrastructures, resulting in power outages and reduced system functionality. Satellites, space stations and astronauts, aviation, GPS, power grids and more can be affected. As our civilization becomes more advanced, we become more vulnerable to the effects of solar storms. Now, as the Sun's activity is on the increase, we need to get better at predicting solar weather. (3/30)

Startups Join Australia's First Space Business Incubator (Source: Space Daily)
The University of South Australia's Innovation and Collaboration Centre (ICC) has announced nine startups have been merit selected for a place in the Venture Catalyst Space program, supported by the South Australian Government's Space Innovation Fund. A leader in space innovation and business acceleration, the program is the first of its kind in Australia. Startups will receive the individual support they need at the time they need it through a tailored program with all equity and intellectual property remaining with the company. (3/30)

Space Museum Auctions Memorabilia (Source: American Space Museum)
The American Space Museum hosts Charity Space Memorabilia Auctions throughout the year. These are made possible by individuals who choose to consign their memorabilia through us. All memorabilia is carefully handled and stored in a limited entry, secure space. The museum is in the process of growing its education program and refreshing its gallery space. So please bid often, bid high and keep our space history alive! If there is nothing in the auction that appeals to you, please consider making a donation. Click here. (3/30)

Melbourne Florida's Aerion Plans 50-Passenger Commercial Jetliner (Source: Bloomberg)
Aerion, now designing a supersonic business jet for manufacture at its Melbourne FL facility, outlined plans for a 50-passenger jetliner that would fly four times the speed of sound and take to the skies before the end of this decade. The commercial aircraft would fly faster and farther than the private jet, with a goal of reaching Tokyo from Los Angeles in three hours, Aerion said. Despite the uncertain outcome of Aerion’s efforts to bring a viable plane to market, the company promised technology “to improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of supersonic flight.”

Aerion is vying with startups including Boom Technology Inc. to be the first to replace the out-of-service Concorde, the only passenger aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound. But the would-be planemakers are grappling with the same problems that caused the Concorde’s demise in 2003: hefty fuel burn as well as sonic booms and noisy engines that resulted in bans on civilian supersonic speeds over most countries.

Founded almost two decades ago, Aerion is working with General Electric to design a new engine and won backing from Boeing two years ago. The AS2, as the business jet is known, is scheduled to fly in 2027. It got a boost this month with a 20-aircraft order from NetJets, the largest luxury-aircraft operator and a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Aerion’s proposed jetliner is called the AS3. (3/29)

Biden to Renew National Space Council (Source: Politico)
President Biden has decided to renew the White House National Space Council, the Cabinet-level body that was revived by then-President Trump in 2017 after two and half decades to coordinate national security priorities, civilian exploration, and fuel the growing private space economy, Morning D has learned. The fate of the council has remained a question mark since Biden took office due to the relative lack of public messaging on space. Under the Trump administration it oversaw the creation of seven space policy directives on everything from establishing the Space Force to crafting a national strategy for the use of nuclear power in space.

“At a time of unprecedented activity and opportunity generated by America’s activities in space, the National Space Council will be renewed to assist the President in generating national space policies, strategies, and synchronizing America’s space activities,” the National Security Council told us Sunday in response to questions. The leadership and makeup of the Biden council is not yet settled. “While we are still working details,” the NSC said, “we will tailor the Council to ensure we have representation that can address the priorities of the Administration. (3/29)

Relativity on Track for Summer Test at Stennis, Then to Florida for Launch (Source: GCAC)
Relativity Space is on track to ship the second stage of its 3D-printed rocket to Stennis Space Center, Miss. for testing this summer. The California-based company was founded with the goal of using 3D printing to manufacture pretty much the entirety of a small rocket. Whether it will ultimately be successful getting into space has yet to be seen, but the company's 3D printing technology does seem to be working. Relativity CEO Tim Ellis said the company recently printed the second stage that will be used on the inaugural flight of the Terran 1 rocket, right now scheduled before the end of 2021.

The stage was printed at a rate of about 1 linear foot per day, so in printer time it took about three weeks in total to produce the 20-foot tall second stage. "We're now confident in this build process," Ellis said. "Not only is the second stage now completed, but we're 75 percent of the way through printing the rocket's first stage."

With the printing complete, the company has begun installing an Aeon vacuum engine, avionics, and a separation system for the first stage. Assuming a successful test campaign in Mississippi, the stage will then be moved to Florida, where it will be integrated with the first stage for launch. There will be no payload with the first launch, but the second will carry a payload for NASA. With a maximum capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, the Terran 1 rocket has a base price of $12 million. It will slot into an increasingly competitive market for small launch vehicles. (3/28)

Russia's Skoltech and MIT Explore Human Landing System Architectures for Moon Landings (Source: Space Daily)
Researchers from Skoltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have analyzed several dozen options to pick the best one in terms of performance and costs for the 'last mile' of a future mission to the Moon - actually delivering astronauts to the lunar surface and back up to the safety of the orbiting lunar station. The paper was published in the journal Acta Astronautica.

Ever since December 1972, when the crew of Apollo 17 left the lunar surface, humans have been eager to return to the Moon. In 2017, the US government launched the Artemis program, which intends to bring "the first woman and the next man" to the lunar south pole by 2024. The Artemis mission will use a new orbital platform, dubbed the Lunar Gateway, which is going to be a permanent space station from which reusable modules will bring astronauts back to the Moon. This new approach requires a reanalysis of the optimal landing approaches; the private companies contracted by NASA to design the reusable landing modules are conducting this research, but keeping their findings to themselves. (3/16)

Star Harbor Academy to Offer Spaceflight Training and R&D Campus in Colorado (Source: Star Harbor Academy)
Our mission is to cultivate a sustainable and thriving future for all those on and off the planet. Star Harbor’s vision is to foster a thriving culture of collaboration by establishing an environment where all explorers, students, trainees, researchers, government, military, industry and entrepreneurs can work in tandem. Nestled in the heart of Colorado, the US’s second largest per capita space economy, Star Harbor will be the hub for space innovation designed to enable more solutions than would have been possible without the cross-pollination our campus is designed to cultivate. (3/29)

OneWeb Welcomes TrustComm as a DoD Distribution Partner (Source: Space Daily)
OneWeb has announced a Memorandum of Understanding with US DoD satellite communications application specialist, TrustComm Inc. OneWeb and TrustComm will enable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity to government customers. The agreement, signed on 16 March, envisions OneWeb and TrustComm working together to deliver OneWeb's high speed, low latency, beyond line-of-sight communications services - with initial focus on the northern latitudes.

The partnership between OneWeb and TrustComm will enable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) - delivered connectivity to government customers, bringing unprecedented opportunity to end users. Supported by a global network of gateways and air, maritime and land user terminals, OneWeb's Global Connectivity Platform will provide secure, high bandwidth and low latency secure data and internet connectivity to government customers across the globe. Initial services are expected to be available starting 4th quarter of 2021.

TrustComm specializes in combining satellite and terrestrial communication systems into fully interoperable networks, providing customers with best-fit and customized end-to-end connectivity solutions in Ku, Ka, L, C and X-band frequency ranges. (3/29)