April 13, 2021

Pay Raise for Russian Cosmonauts (Source: Inside Outer Space)
During an April 12 meeting on long-term priorities of space exploration, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR and State Duma Deputy Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman to orbit Earth aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963) asked Russian President Vladimir Putin a lifestyle question regarding cosmonauts. "It is very important to provide a decent lifestyle for the cosmonauts and their family members. I would like to hear in this context what will be done in this regard," she said.

Putin's response: "Indeed, this seems to be a current issue but it is still no less important for those who work in this industry. Up to this day, they have not just done all they can to achieve the desired common result but even put their health and lives at risk. Therefore, I suggest a 50% increase in the salaries of those who have already been to space and are important members of the cosmonauts’ team. The salaries of those who have not yet been to space but are getting ready for this will go up by 70%. These increases will also be reflected in premium payments and so I think that in all, our cosmonauts will receive handsome remuneration." (4/13)

China and Russia Are Launching the New Cold War Into Space (Source: Bloomberg)
For being vast, mysterious and deadly, space is also somehow sort of hilarious. Even science fiction fans know this (see “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” all volumes). Thus we’ve spent years laughing at America’s new Space Force, especially when it unveiled its Starfleet logo and said its servicepeople would be known as Guardians. Too easy, guys!

But back to that “deadly” thing. As the dinosaurs could tell you if they weren’t all dead, a well-aimed rock dropped down the gravity well from space can pretty much be a game-ender, civilization-wise, making the defense of space actually kind of a big deal. China and Russia, America’s adversaries in the new cold war, seem to get this and have big plans to militarize the void, writes James Stavridis. They’re teaming up on a moon base, raising the specter of “Ad Astra”-style rover shootouts; they're also testing out blowing up satellites, the very thing that kicked off the plot in “Gravity.” We might regret laughing at the Guardians. (4/13)

Stennis and Michoud Plan Business Parks to Spur Non-NASA and Commercial Aerospace Development (Source: GCAC)
NASA's Stennis Space Center and Michoud Assembly Facility have both played important roles in America’s space program for decades. Michoud, located in New Orleans East, is the “rocket factory” where the Saturn V and SLS were built. Stennis, about 40 miles away in Hancock County, Miss. is the place where all of those rockets were tested before they blasted into space. Now, both facilities are developing business parks on their grounds to better serve the public and private agencies that are already there. The hope is to make both Michoud and Stennis even bigger economic drivers.

They’re modeling the parks after similar commercial operations at other NASA facilities such as Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Ames Research Center. Stennis has been discussing Enterprise Park, a 1,100 acre technology corridor on the north side of the complex for nearly four years now. There were several delays in the development, but NASA officials have approved plans for the space center to send out an announcement for proposals to develop the business park. A new office for specialized business development is also being established at the space center, with hiring about to start.

While Stennis officials have been working on a business park for several years, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced in March he had signed an agreement with Michoud that could lead to the creation of the Louisiana Space Campus. The space campus is a 50-acre facility in Michoud that will target commercial office development for existing tenants as well as bring in new public and private partners. This could serve as a physical hub for hundreds of local and regional STEM jobs. (4/13)

Raytheon, Aerojet Rocketdyne Offer Vaccination Incentives (Source: Hartford Courant)
The list of big companies providing vaccination incentives include Raytheon Technologies, the corporate parent of major Connecticut employer Pratt & Whitney. “We have highly encouraged all of our employees to get vaccinated,” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said during a virtual Economic Club of Washington event. “In fact, there is a small financial reward that people get for getting vaccinated.”

Raytheon awards points to employees who get COVID-19 shots under a wellness program that also rewards things like getting an annual physical and flu shot, exercising or giving up smoking. Once they get enough points, they earn a $200 bonus. Meanwhile, other companies are offering inducements from paid time off to straight cash bonuses. For example, California-based Aerojet Rocketdyne is offering $50 to employees who get vaccinated for COVID-19. (4/1o)

Ingenuity Helicopter Needs Software Update Before Mars Flight (Source: CBS)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter will need a software update before attempting its first flight. A final pre-flight test of the small helicopter ended prematurely Friday, and NASA announced late Monday that engineers concluded a software update is required to address the problem. That update will take several days, and NASA won't announce a new date for the flight until next week. (4/13)

China Readies for Launch of Space Station Cargo (Source: Space News)
A Long March 7 that will launch a cargo mission to China's new space station has arrived at its spaceport. The rocket is expected to launch the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang spaceport as soon as mid-May. The first module of China's space station, Tianhe, is anticipated to launch on a Long March 5B late this month. A crewed mission, Shenzhou-12, would follow in June. (4/13)

Atlantic Council Releases Space Strategy Report, Proposes New Space Treaty (Source: Space News)
A new report lays out a 30-year space strategy for the United States. The report, published Monday by the Atlantic Council, recommends the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the foundation of international space law, be replaced with a new accord to address the security and commercial realities of space in the 21st century. The authors also call for a coalition to push back on Russian and Chinese testing and deployments of anti-satellite weapons. The strategy outlined in the report, its authors argue, is essential to provide long-term guidance for space policies that can change from administration to administration. (4/13)

Companies Offer Competing Capabilities for Next Generation Weather Satellites (Source: Space News)
Companies that won NASA contracts for studies of weather satellite instruments are looking to provide new capabilities for a next generation of spacecraft. L3Harris and Raytheon won one-year contracts valued at about $6 million each to study contracts for a future generation of geostationary weather satellites. L3Harris is proposing a follow-on for the Advanced Baseline Imager instrument it builds for the current GOES-R satellites, while Raytheon is studying new capabilities, such as ocean color measurements and day/night capabilities. (4/13)

Japan Casting Wider Net for New Astronauts (Source: Kyodo)
Japan will consider a wider range of applicants for its next astronaut class. The Japanese space agency JAXA will no longer require potential astronauts to have a natural science degree and at least three years of experience in such fields. JAXA may also change a requirement that applicants have worked at the agency for more than 10 years before becoming astronauts. JAXA plans to start the recruitment campaign for new astronauts in the fall, the first since 2008. (4/13)

NRO Plans April 26 Launch From Vandenberg with ULA Delta 4 Heavy (Source: Noozhawk)
The National Reconnaissance Office has set the date for its next launch. The agency said the Delta 4 Heavy launch of the NROL-82 mission will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California April 26, between 3:39 and 6:57 p.m. Eastern. The launch will carry a classified payload for the NRO. (4/13)

New Insignia for Astronauts (Source: CollectSpace)
A new insignia will be available to all people who fly to space, regardless of nation. The Association of Space Explorers unveiled Monday the Universal Astronaut Insignia, versions of which it will offer to those who complete suborbital or orbital flights, be they by government agencies or by companies. NASA and some other agencies and organizations offer their own pins or wings to astronauts, but this design is intended for anyone who goes into space, including tourists. (4/13)

Orbital Sidekick Raises $16 Million for Hyperspectral Constellation (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sidekick raised $16 million in a Series A funding round announced Tuesday. The company will use the funding, led by Singapore investment firm Temasek, to complete development of its first constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites. The funding round was a condition of receiving an additional $16 million from the U.S. Air Force. Orbital Sidekick is developing a six-satellite Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite constellation, known as GHOSt. It plans to begin launching GHOSt satellites in late 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 flight. (4/13)

For Human Spaceflight, Better Late Than Never (Source: Space Review)
For years, the space community has been awaiting a future with multiple providers transporting government astronauts and private individuals to space. Jeff Foust reports that, on this anniversary of the flights of Yuri Gagarin and the first shuttle mission, that future is finally arriving. Click here. (4/12)
 
A Moonshot to Inspire: Building Back Better in Space (Source: Space Review)
A key theme of the Biden Administration is to “build back better.” Alan Stern argues that it creates an opportunity for the president to offer a bold new vision for space, much as President Kennedy did six decades ago. Click here. (4/12)
 
Why Venture? A Memo for the Biden Administration (Source: Space Review)
The Biden Administration is continuing many existing programs in space exploration, but looks to make its own stamp on them. Derek Webber describes how space exploration activities, human or robotic, need to fall into one of several categories. Click here. (4/12)

On Gagarin Flight Anniversary, Putin Vows Russia Will Remain Space Power (Source: Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic space flight on Monday with a pledge that Moscow would remain a key space and nuclear power. To mark the anniversary, Putin laid flowers on a monument to Gagarin near his landing site close to the city of Engels, some 860 km (535 miles) southeast of Moscow.

“This is without a doubt a great event that changed the world. We will always be proud that it was our country that paved the road to outer space,” Putin told senior officials. “In the 21st century, Russia must properly maintain its status as one of the leading nuclear and space powers, because the space sector is directly linked to defence.” (4/12)

Hurricane-Damaged Navaho Missile Back on Display at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Florida Today)
A historic Navaho cruise missile damaged during Hurricane Matthew's grazing of the Space Coast in 2016 is officially standing guard again just outside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Workers late last month reinstalled the inert orange-and-white winged missile —developed in the 1940s and '50s to strike Soviet Union targets from U.S. soil — near the base's south gate after years-long restoration efforts. It remains the only intact Navaho XSM-64 in existence. (4/13)

Astrobotic Picks Falcon Heavy for Lunar Lander Launch (Source: Space News)
Astrobotic has selected SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch a lunar lander mission carrying a NASA rover. Astrobotic announced Tuesday that it signed a contract with SpaceX to launch its Griffin lunar lander in late 2023. Griffin will carry NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission to the south pole of the moon to prospect for water ice. Astrobotic won a NASA task order through the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program last year to transport VIPER to the moon. The companies did not disclose the value of the launch contract. (4/13)

DoD's SDA RFI Gauges Interest, Capabilities for Military Constellations (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) issued a new request for information Monday regarding satellite constellations. The request is intended for companies that plan to compete for later SDA contracts to confirm that they will be able to meet specific technical requirements. A key concern of SDA is to make sure satellites from different vendors are interoperable. Among the requirements the SDA included in the request for information is the inclusion of satellite optical crosslinks. The next procurement of satellites by SDA, Tranche 1, is expected later this year. The agency intends to buy 150 satellites to be launched in late 2024. (4/13)

Life on Venus? First We Need to Know More About Molecules in the Atmosphere (Source: Space Daily)
The search for life on other planets has received a major boost after scientists revealed the spectral signatures of almost 1000 atmospheric molecules that may be involved in the production or consumption of phosphine. Scientists have long conjectured that phosphine - a chemical compound made of one phosphorous atom surrounded by three hydrogen atoms (PH3) - may indicate evidence of life if found in the atmospheres of small rocky planets like our own, where it is produced by the biological activity of bacteria.

So when an international team of scientists last year claimed to have detected phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, it raised the tantalising prospect of the first evidence of life on another planet - albeit the primitive, single-celled variety. But not everyone was convinced, with some scientists questioning whether the phosphine in Venus's atmosphere was really produced by biological activity, or whether phosphine was detected at all.

Now an international team, led by UNSW Sydney scientists, has made a key contribution to this and any future searches for life on other planets by demonstrating how an initial detection of a potential biosignature must be followed by searches for related molecules. In a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, they described how the team used computer algorithms to produce a database of approximate infrared spectral barcodes for 958 molecular species containing phosphorous. (4/13)

New Laser to Help Clear the Sky of Space Debris (Source: Space Daily)
Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have harnessed a technique that helps telescopes see objects in the night sky more clearly to fight against dangerous and costly space debris. The researchers' work on adaptive optics - which removes the haziness caused by turbulence in the atmosphere - has been applied to a new 'guide star' laser for better identifying, tracking and safely moving space debris.

EOS will now commercialise the new guide star laser technology, which could also be incorporated in tool kits to enable high-bandwidth ground to space satellite communications. The laser beams used for tracking space junk use infrared light and aren't visible. In contrast, the new guide star laser, which is mounted on a telescope, propagates a visible orange beam into the night sky to create an artificial star that can be used to accurately measure light distortion between Earth and space.

This guiding orange light enables adaptive optics to sharpen images of space debris. It can also guide a second, more powerful infra-red laser beam through the atmosphere to precisely track space debris or even safely move them out of orbit to avoid collisions with other debris and eventually burn up in the atmosphere. (4/13)