April 11, 2021

Russia Prepares Land-Based Infrastructure Plan for Revived Sea Launch Operation (Source: TASS)
Specialists of the Center for Operation of Space Ground Based Infrastructure (TsENKI) have completed preliminary consideration for the outline of the onshore segment of the Sea Launch floating spaceport, Chief Executive Officer of the company Ruslan Mukhamedzhanov said. "It is needed to support acceptance of launch vehicle components from manufacturing plants. TsENKI specialists completed preliminary activities for the outline of the onshore segment required for Sea Launch complex functioning," the top manager said.

The Sea Launch floating space port consists of the Odyssey spacecraft launch platform and the command ship. The program was effective until 2014, with 32 launches of the Zenit launch vehicle completed. Operations were paused in 2014 and the S7 Group acquired the complex in September 2016. In spring 2020, the command ship and the launch platform berthed at the Slavyanka Shipyard in the Far East. (4/11)

Democrats and Republicans Find Common Ground — on Mars (Source: Politico)
After decades of partisan battles, there’s finally something that can unite Washington — and it’s 150 million miles away. Democrats and Republicans alike are giddy for NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which is expected to take off on Mars as early as Wednesday for the first powered flight on another planet. And some of the top space supporters on Capitol Hill are hopeful this excitement among their colleagues and the broader American public will translate into bigger budgets for NASA to pursue its most ambitious missions. (4/10)

Apparent SpaceX Rocket Debris Found on Oregon Coast (Source: Beach Connection)
Lincoln County Sheriffs reported Friday they found what appears to be charred debris from the Falcon 9 rocket that created such a startling show in the skies over the west coast in late March. This comes after another piece was found in eastern Washington last week. The chunk of fuel container-like debris was found in Waldport after washing up in the Alsea Bay, according to the sheriff's office.“The debris was removed from the Alsea Bay by a fisherman and was briefly stored near a local business,” the office said. (4/9)

Hundreds of Tourists Have Begun Training for Space (Source: AFP)
Several hundred people have already booked their tickets and begun training for a spectacular voyage: a few minutes, or perhaps days, in the weightlessness of space. The mainly wealthy first-time space travelers are preparing to take part in one of several private missions which are preparing to launch. The era of space tourism is on the horizon 60 years after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space.

Two companies, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin LLC, are building spacecraft capable of sending private clients on suborbital flights to the edge of space lasting several minutes. Glenn King is the director of spaceflight training at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center, a private company based in Pennsylvania that has already trained nearly 400 future Virgin Galactic passengers for their trips.

“The oldest person I trained was 88 years old,” King said. The training program lasts two days — a morning of classroom instruction and tests in a centrifuge. (4/11)

NASA Delays First Flight of Mars Helicopter (Source: Space News)
NASA announced April 10 it was postponing the first flight attempt of the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars by at least three days after detecting a problem during a final pre-flight test. In a brief statement, NASA said that the command sequence for an April 9 test of the vehicle’s rotors, where they would spin up to full speed, ended early when a “watchdog” timer expired. That timer oversees the command sequence and prevents the test from proceeding if there is an issue.

NASA did not elaborate on the specific issue that aborted the test, beyond that it took place when the flight computer on the 1.8-kilogram helicopter was trying to go from “pre-flight” to “flight” mode. Mission engineers will reschedule the test once they evaluate the telemetry from the vehicle. That test was the last before a first flight of Ingenuity, which was scheduled for the evening of April 11. NASA says that flight attempt will now take place no earlier than April 14. (4/10)

NASA Teases A Mars Base Made Of Mushrooms, A Swarm Of Spacecraft To Venus And A Giant Dish On The Moon (Source: Forbes)
Space agency NASA has dished-out $5 million to seven concepts for future space exploration—and they include some exceptionally creative ideas. They include space habitats made from fungi, “climbing robots” that could build a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon, a “swarm” of spacecraft to explore the clouds of Venus and spacecraft that can “jump” around Pluto.

These are all part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program and not yet official NASA missions. In fact, the projects are in such early stages of development that most will need a decade to figure out. In February 2021, NASA released details of 16 equally ambitious Phase I NIAC proposals, each of which received up to $125,000 for a nine-month study. (4/9)

Bill Nelson’s NASA Nomination is Good for Florida (Source: Gainesville Sun)
It is refreshingly good news, both for Florida and for the future of American spaceflight, that President Joe Biden has nominated former Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson to lead NASA. Perhaps the most unique candidate in the agency's history, Nelson has the distinction of being an experienced, well-liked former senator while also having been to space himself, having participated in the space shuttle Columbia’s mission in 1986.

Nelson’s commitment to building on these NASA initiatives over the next four years is critical not only to ensuring a healthy space industry in Florida but also to guaranteeing the United States meets its goal to remain the world leader in space exploration for the remainder of the century. Florida is home to much of the development for both programs. Nelson’s past congressional initiatives — such as the commercial crew program, which accelerated NASA’s work with the private sector — helped secure Florida’s prominent role in this industry.

Having a NASA administrator with this background bodes well for the state in terms of continuing to receive the agency’s and executive branch’s support.  It's no surprise, then, that Florida's representatives are praising the move, with even Sen. Marco Rubio saying, in backhanded-compliment fashion, that Nelson’s nomination gives him “confidence that the Biden Administration finally understands ... the necessity of winning the 21st-century space race."  (4/10)

OneWeb, SpaceX Satellites Dodged a Potential Collision in Orbit (Source: The Verge)
Two satellites from the fast-growing constellations of OneWeb and SpaceX’s Starlink dodged a dangerously close approach with one another in orbit last weekend, representatives from the US Space Force and OneWeb said. It’s the first known collision avoidance event for the two rival companies as they race to expand their new broadband-beaming networks in space.

On March 30th, five days after OneWeb launched its latest batch of 36 satellites from Russia, the company received several “red alerts” from the US Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron warning of a possible collision with a Starlink satellite. Because OneWeb’s constellation operates in higher orbits around Earth, the company’s satellites must pass through SpaceX’s mesh of Starlink satellites, which orbit at an altitude of roughly 550 km.

One Space Force alert indicated a collision probability of 1.3 percent, with the two satellites coming as close as 190 feet — a dangerously close proximity for satellites in orbit. If satellites collide in orbit, it could cause a cascading disaster that could generate hundreds of pieces of debris and send them on crash courses with other satellites nearby. (4/9)

Blue Origin Plans to Hire 80 Technicians, Machinists in Kent, Washington (Source: Kent Reporter)
Kent-based Blue Origin plans to hire 80 skilled technicians and machinists in Washington state who are passionate about the aerospace company’s mission to lower the cost of access to space. Blue Origin plans to fill the positions within two months to support continued company growth, according to a company post on linkedin.com. (4/9)

State Requests More Time For Spaceport Camden Review; County Hires Former Kemp Aides (Source: WABE)
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has asked for more time to release an impending decision about a proposed spaceport in South Georgia’s Camden County, citing among other reasons, “the complexity of the proposed project.” The state agency is required to review whether the proposal violates any Georgia laws protecting the coastal environment.

Camden County is proposing to build a commercial spaceport on the coast in Woodbine, Georgia, featuring a rocket launch trajectory over salt marsh and tidal waters, as well as the Cumberland Island National Seashore. A spaceport operator license would not allow the county to actually launch rockets; each launch would still require an additional federal license. (4/9)

UAE Picks First Woman Astronaut (Source: Khaleej Times)
The UAE has a new feather to its cap with the selection of the first female astronaut. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, took to Twitter to announce the two new Emirati astronauts. The country has announced that the first woman astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi will be joined by her colleague Mohammed Al Mulla – making them the two chosen Emirati astronauts to form the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Program. (4/10)

Could SpaceX ‘Space Tourism’ Rocket Despite $55 Million Ticket? (Source: Doha News)
A 2018 survey found that almost half of Americans are interested in orbiting Earth in a spacecraft. The survey did not factor in the ticket cost though. A different survey in 2008 found that the average price people are willing to pay for space tourism is $2,000. That’s 0.004% of the actual $55 million price that was charged for this mission. There are two things to keep in mind though.

Firstly, $2000 is the average price that people are willing to pay, but space tourism is likely to remain a luxury for those with very high disposable income. Secondly, as technology develops, the price of future trips will decrease over time. Novel technology such as reusable rockets will play a huge role in this price drop. Despite SpaceX’s publicity and recent milestones, it’s not the only company pushing the industry forward. Richard Bransons’ Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin offer a taste of space tourism.

Blue Origin is working on a reduced space tourism experience too, and ticket prices are expected to be a few hundred thousand dollars. It remains to be seen if consumers will favor SpaceX’s expensive but full experience, or if the “cheaper” reduced trips will be the ones to take off. (4/10)

French Space Forces Reach For Higher ‘Orbit’ (Source: Breaking Defense)
France led its first multinational military space exercise last month, with Germany, Italy and the US, marking the country’s effort to re-vamp its forces and operations to meet 21st century threats. The exercise signals the French government’s intent to reach for a higher ‘orbit’ as a sovereign nation in order to be able to face any future space conflict. Up until now, Paris was a participant in US-led space wargames.

The ASTERX exercise, took place in Toulouse March 8-12. It was described by Gen. Michel Friedling, head of the French Space Command, as a ‘’stress test’’ for the country’s space command processes and systems. Assessing future space operational needs through this kind of exercise is one of the first tasks for the government of French President Emmanuel Macron in its full speed effort launched in 2019 to overhaul the country’s space policy. (4/9)

NASA's Artemis Program Will Land the First Person of Color on the Moon (Source: CNN)
The Artemis program will land the first person of color on the moon, according to NASA. The new goal for the program, which seeks to land the first woman and the next man on at the lunar south pole by 2024, comes from the Biden-Harris administration. The administration submitted US President Joe Biden's priorities for 2022 discretionary spending to Congress Friday. It calls for an increase of more than 6% from the previous year, according to NASA. (4/9)