April 12, 2021

In Russia, the Legend of Cosmonaut Gagarin Lives On (Source: Phys.org)
Sixty years after he became the first person in space, there are few figures more universally admired in Russia today than Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. His smiling face adorns murals across the country. He stands, arms at his sides as if zooming into space, on a pedestal 42.5 metres (140 feet) above the traffic flowing on Moscow's Leninsky Avenue. He is even a favourite subject of tattoos.

The Soviet Union may be gone and Russia's glory days in space long behind it, but Gagarin's legend lives on, a symbol of Russian success and—for a Kremlin keen to inspire patriotic fervour—an important source of national pride. "He is a figure who inspires an absolute consensus that unifies the country," says Gagarin's biographer Lev Danilkin. "This is a very rare case in which the vast majority of the population is unanimous." (4/7)

Nikon Enters Aerospace Structures Market (Source: Space News)
Nikon is acquiring a controlling stake in Morf3D, a company that produced 3D-printed aerospace structures. Established in 2015, Morf3D has supplied 3D-printed customized titanium and aluminum parts for Boeing satellites and helicopters. Boeing also invested in the company. Nikon is paying $91 million for the stake in Morf3D, which includes seats on the company's board. The acquisition was the latest outcome of Nikon's efforts to find new growth engines amid declining financial health. (4/12)

Blue Origin Plans New Shepard Launch at Texas Site (Source: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin is preparing for another flight of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle this week. The company announced Sunday that the NS-15 mission is scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, several hours after the FAA published temporary flight restrictions for the company's West Texas test site similar to previous flights. Blue Origin disclosed no other details about its plans for the flight. New Shepard last flew in January on the first flight of a version of the vehicle the company will later use for flying people. (4/12)

India Again Delays Launch of Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: Times of India)
The launch of an Indian remote sensing satellite is facing a further delay. A "minor power problem" with the Gisat-1 spacecraft will likely delay its launch on a GSLV rocket, which had been scheduled for April 18. That issue will push back the launch to the last week of April or early May, according to an industry source. Gisat-1 was originally scheduled to launch in March of last year, but delayed by an unspecified technical issue and then by the pandemic. Gisat-1 will provide continuous but low-resolution images of the Indian subcontinent from geostationary orbit. (4/12)

Demonstrating a Space Communications Universal Translator with NASA (Source: NASA)
With growing capabilities in the commercial satellite sector, NASA and other government agencies are transitioning to commercial satellite communications services. These services have taken great technological and capability steps forward in recent years, making them an appealing and cost-saving alternative to government-owned, near-Earth communications systems. Recent advancements in interoperability may also open up new capabilities allowing multiple space users to roam seamlessly between commercial services and networks, just like the cellphone networks of today, and creating a more robust commercial marketplace that provides users with a variety of diverse services at competitive prices.

The Flexible Modem Interface (FMI) was developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) as a hardware solution to act as a universal translator, able to understand and speak each network’s coded language. After DOD testing proved the FMI capability, Glenn recognized and retooled it as a software solution that could be uploaded to any spacecraft, including those already in orbit.

In 2019, a version of the FMI device was tested with space communication terminals for the first time at Glenn. In the test, a signal was sent from Glenn’s control center to the SCaN Testbed aboard the International Space Station. The Testbed used a software-defined radio, which is a type of radio that leverages software instead of traditional hardware components, that was dynamically controlled using the FMI, allowing it to switch from one network to another. (3/31)

DARPA Selects Performers for Phase 1 of Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) Program (Source: DARPA)
DARPA has awarded contracts for the first phase of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program. The goal of the DRACO program is to demonstrate a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system above low Earth orbit in 2025. The three prime contractors are General Atomics, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin.

Rapid maneuver is a core tenet of modern Department of Defense (DoD) operations on land, at sea, and in the air. However, rapid maneuver in the space domain has traditionally been challenging because current electric and chemical space propulsion systems have drawbacks in thrust-to-weight and propellent efficiency, respectively. DRACO’s NTP system has the potential to achieve high thrust-to-weight ratios similar to in-space chemical propulsion and approach the high propellent efficiency of electric systems. This combination would give a DRACO spacecraft greater agility to implement DoD’s core tenet of rapid maneuver in cislunar space (between the Earth and moon). (4/12)

Exolaunch Tug to Remove Orbital Debris (Source: Space News)
Exolaunch is developing an "eco-friendly" space tug that will be able to remove orbital debris. The company says its Reliant tug will initially be used for deploying satellites launched on rideshare missions, starting with a flight on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission in the second half of 2022. An advanced version of the rug, Reliant Pro, would also be able to collect and deorbit space debris. Tests of Reliant Pro will begin in 2023. (4/12)

New NASA Administrator Should Reject its Patriarchal and Parochial Past (Source: Scientific American)
President Biden’s nominee to serve as the next NASA administrator, former Senator Bill Nelson, has overseen the agency’s budget and operations for the better part of 40 years. The White House announcement of his nomination said that “Most every piece of space and science law has had his imprint” and that “In the Senate he was known as the go-to senator for our nation’s space program.” Nelson’s outsized influence on NASA over four decades is undisputed, but some of us in the space community are concerned this may not be a feature.

Senator Nelson is most closely identified with human spaceflight and associated large hardware development programs, such as the space shuttle and deep-space launch vehicles. His nomination signals an intention by the president to continue this focus. But President Biden’s stated goals for the government include addressing climate change, social justice and equity. Aligning NASA’s purpose with the most important current priorities of our nation would serve to advance a space program that represents the future instead of the past.

Senator Nelson’s imprint on the space program has thus been to perpetuate a system that rewards legislators whose states and districts have existing space facilities and jobs to protect. This has predictably led to grand pronouncements based on unrealistic industry estimates, multibillion-dollar cost overruns, years of schedule delays and unmet expectations—the real reason new administrations have canceled human spaceflight programs. This system creates a handful of self-interested congressional boosters, but narrows the agency’s focus and limits broad political and public support. (4/12)

Thailand's mu Space Granted Investment Incentives to Compete in Global Space Industry (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Satellite and space technology company, mu Space and Advanced Technology, has secured a Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) investment promotion to take on the international space technology market. mu Space is granted A1 level of investment promotion incentives and privileges, the highest rank of any eligible incentives, with the manufacturing of its small satellite components in a category of high technology industry; Manufacture or repair of Aircraft, or Aerospace Devices and Equipment section. The company aims to be the leader and put Thai space-tech company on the map. (4/12)

Northrop Grumman Robotic MEV-2 Spacecraft, in a First, Catches Active Intelsat Satellite (Source: CNBC)
Northrop Grumman and Intelsat accomplished a space industry first on Monday, with a small spacecraft docking with an active satellite in orbit. The Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 docked successfully with the nearly 18-year-old Intelsat IS-10-02 satellite, in a move that is expected to add another five years of life to the satellite. The MEV-2 mission builds upon the success of Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 mission last year, which docked with an inactive Intelsat satellite. (4/12)