April 28, 2021

China's Long March-6 Launches Nine Commercial Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
China launched its Long March-6 rocket on Tuesday, sending nine commercial satellites into space. The rocket blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province at 11:20 a.m. (Beijing Time). This was the 366th flight mission of the Long March rocket series. (4/28)

Arianespace Vega Mission Launching Earth Observation Satellites (Source: Space Daily)
Arianespace's first Vega mission of the year lifts off from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, with the optical observation satellite Pleiades Neo 3. The 18th mission of Europe's Vega light launcher also carries an observation microsatellite for the Norwegian space agency, Norsat-3, plus four cubesats for the operators Eutelsat, NanoAvionics/Aurora Insight and Spire. (4/28)

Kendall Nominated as Next Air Force Secretary (Source: Defense News)
Frank Kendall, who held the position of undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics under the Obama administration, is President Joe Biden's nominee to serve as secretary of the US Air Force. The administration also has nominated Gina Ortiz Jones for the post of undersecretary. Also, Heidi Shyu is the Biden administration's nominee for the next undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and Meredith Berger is the pick for the assistant secretary of the US Navy for energy, installations and environment. (4/27)

Artemis SLS Core Stage Arrives at Florida Spaceport, When Will it Be Ready to Fly? (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The biggest piece to a years-in-the-making rocket that will become the most powerful to ever launch off the planet arrived at Kennedy Space Center this week when the core stage for the Artemis I mission to the moon made its way to Florida. The 212-foot-long, 188,000-pound piece of hardware was shipped to KSC via NASA’s Pegasus barge. Now the core stage is set to join two solid rocket boosters from NASA partner Northrop Grumman that when combined will generate 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

“There’s a very intricate series of tests that are being done for the first flight,” John Cipolletti said. “The complete green light schedule is early in the fall, September, but the most probable is later in the fall.” NASA had previously targeted as early as November 2021 for the Artemis I launch, followed by 2023 for Artemis II and 2024 for Artemis III, but those dates were targets of the Trump administration. The Biden administration has not reiterated those targets, but acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said recently it needs to be done “as quickly and safely as possible.”

As far as the hardware goes, though, Cipolletti is optimistic that even with more scrutiny on this first rocket, a 2021 launch is possible. But because of the trajectory needed to hit its planned lunar launch target, NASA will have limited windows to gear up for launch. (4/27)

York Space Systems Gains Customers for Satellite Platform (Source: Space News)
York Space Systems says the first launch of its new LX-CLASS satellite platform is happening next year, as the more powerful platform already has many customers. The larger platform offers "more flexibility in terms of payload capability," which is twice the payload volume of the existing spacecraft bus, according to CEO Dirk Wallinger. (4/27)

Intuitive Machines Delays Lunar Mission (Source: Space News)
Intuitive Machines says its first lunar lander mission has slipped to next year. The company had planned to launch its IM-1 mission this fall on a SpaceX Falcon 9, but in an FCC filing last week disclosed the launch is now scheduled for early 2022. Intuitive Machines said that SpaceX informed it that because of its "unique mission requirements," the earliest launch opportunity was the first quarter of 2022. Neither Intuitive Machines nor SpaceX would elaborate on those issues. The IM-1 mission will carry a set of NASA payloads through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program as well as several commercial payloads. (4/28)

FCC Approves Lower Orbits for Starlink (Source: Space News)
The FCC approved SpaceX's application Tuesday to lower the orbits of its Starlink satellites. The commission will allow SpaceX to move 2,814 satellites previously approved for orbits at altitudes of 1,100–1,300 kilometers down to 540–570 kilometers. SpaceX said the move would reduce latency in the system and improve orbital safety. Several satellite operators opposed the move on grounds ranging from increased interference to a greater risk of collisions in low Earth orbit. The FCC also rejected calls that it perform an environmental assessment of SpaceX's constellation. The license does include some conditions on SpaceX, including not operating satellites any higher than 580 kilometers and providing semi-annual reports on the health of its satellite fleet. (4/28)

Astronomers Ask UN to Address Interference From Megaconstellations (Source: Space.com)
Astronomers asked a United Nations committee to protect the night sky from interference caused by megaconstellations. During a session of a meeting of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), representatives of the International Astronomical Union and other groups warned that megaconstellations could interfere with optical and radio astronomy. Astronomers asked the UN to regulate the brightness of satellites and require operators to share orbital data with astronomers so they can plan their observations accordingly. Given the deliberative nature of COPUOS, though, it's unlikely any rules will be developed in the foreseeable future. (4/28)

Dynetics Files Protest Over NASA Lunar Lander Award to SpaceX (Source: Space News)
Dynetics joined Blue Origin protesting NASA's Human Landing System award to SpaceX. Dynetics said Tuesday it filed a protest with the GAO because of its "issues and concerns" with NASA's acquisition process and the agency's technical evaluation of its crewed lunar lander concept. Dynetics' proposal received a lower technical score than either Blue Origin or SpaceX, and its price was "significantly higher" than Blue Origin's $5.99 billion, more than double SpaceX's winning bid of $2.89 billion. NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk said it's too soon to know if the two protests will require the agency to stop work on the contract it awarded to SpaceX while the GAO evaluates the protests. (4/28)

German Launcher Startup Wins Two More Customers (Source: Space News)
Rocket Factory Augsburg has added two more customers to its launch manifest. The German launch startup said Tuesday it signed launch contracts with OHB Cosmos and LuxSpace for missions in mid-2024 and 2025 carrying undisclosed payloads. The company won its first launch contract, with OHB Sweden, last month. Rocket Factory Augsburg is developing its three-stage RFA One launch vehicle, which is designed to carry 1,300 kilograms to a 300-kilometer polar orbit. It's one of three German companies working on small launch vehicles, along with Isar Aerospace and HyImpulse Technologies. (4/28)

Russian Progress Spacecraft Departs ISS After Record Stay (Source: TASS)
A Progress spacecraft has left the ISS after a record-setting stay. The Progress MS-14 spacecraft undocked from the station's Zvezda module Tuesday night and will reenter over the Pacific Ocean Wednesday evening. The spacecraft launched April 25 of last year, breaking the record for the longest mission by a Progress cargo spacecraft of 337 days set in 1993 by a Progress mission to the Mir space station. (4/28)

Spaceport Camden Environmental Impact Statement Delayed (Sources: Parabolic Arc, Spaceport Facts)
The FAA is continuing to develop the Final EIS. As part of that process, the FAA has consulted with Federal and state agencies. Agency and public comments are being incorporated into the Final EIS. In addition, the FAA has completed a number of consultations including Section 4f of the Department of Transportation Act, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (with National Marine Fisheries and US Fish and Wildlife), and Essential Fish Habitat.

The FAA is continuing to work with the Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) to complete the Section 106 process. As previously announced, the FAA had planned to release the Final EIS in April 2021 and Record of Decision (ROD) in June 2021. However, due to discussions and consultation efforts with consulting parties, the FAA is announcing an update to the schedule. The FAA now plans to release the Final EIS in late May 2021 and ROD in late June 2021.

Spaceport Facts, a site opposing the Camden project notes: "The interesting thing about the Section 4(f) review is that on April 22, 2021 the National Park Service reported its position hasn't changed from their December 10, 2020 comments, "NPS does not concur with the FAA's Section 4(f) conclusions at this time. Allowing rockets over visitor/camper active Cumberland Island National Seashore would set the precedent to similarly allow launches over the public at Wallops, Vandenberg, and Kennedy." (4/27)

Kerry Says US Satellites Will Monitor China’s Climate Progress (Source: Independent)
John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s international climate envoy, has said that the US will use satellites to monitor China’s progress on commitments to tackle the climate crisis. The US hosted a virtual climate summit last week which elicited new emissions targets from South Korea, Japan, Canada and South Africa but not China, the world’s largest carbon emitter.

China’s President Xi Jinping told the summit that China would work alongside the US on climate and reiterated his announcement from last year that the superpower aims to reach peak emissions by 2030. He also said that China would “strictly control” coal projects, and limit increases of the fossil fuel over the next five years before phasing down.

Former secretary of state Mr Kerry toldThe Times that while China’s statements on coal reduction were a positive sign, the US was not taking any promises at “face value.” ... “What we’ll do here is verify. We have massive capacity with satellites to know exactly what’s being produced where — and that will be true for all major corporations with major supply chains, we’ll know what they’re doing,” Mr Kerry said. (4/27)

Musk Taunts Bezos Over Blue Origin’s Challenge to SpaceX’s Contract for Lunar Lander (Source: GeekWire)
The billionaire space battle just got kicked up a notch, with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture challenging NASA’s award of a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract to SpaceX — and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replying with a double entendre. Monday’s contretemps in commercial space began when Blue Origin sent the Government Accountability Office a 50-page filing (plus more than 100 pages’ worth of attachments) claiming that NASA improperly favored SpaceX in the deliberations that led to this month’s single-source award.

A team led by Blue Origin — with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper as partners — had competed for a share of NASA funding to develop a system capable of landing astronauts on the moon in the mid-2020s. Alabama-based Dynetics was also in the competitiion, and has also filed a protest with the GAO. Both protests contend that NASA was wrong to make only one contract award, despite Congress’ less-than-expected support levels, due to the importance of promoting competition in the lunar lander market.

Although both protests delve deeply into the details of procurement, Blue Origin’s challenge has an added twist of personal rivalry. Musk twisted the knife a bit on Twitter, using a phrase with sexual overtones to note that Blue Origin hasn’t yet launched a rocket to orbit. “Can’t get it up (to orbit) lol,” he wrote. Musk’s comments to The Washington Post addressed questions about Blue Origin’s protest more directly. “The BO bid was just way too high,” said Musk, referring to Blue Origin by its initials. “Double that of SpaceX and SpaceX has much more hardware progress.” (4/27)

Four Female Actors Short-Listed for Trip to ISS for Russian Movie Production (Source: Space Sleuth)
The name of the actress who will be sent to the ISS on the next Soyuz spaceflight will be revealed on 15 May, according to the Head of Roscosmos. This unusual spaceflight will be connected to the filming of the movie «Вызов», (The Challenge). Dmitri Rogozin revealed that the Director of the movie Klim Shipenko had completed his medical checks and had been confirmed fit to fly to the ISS. The next step will be for Shipenko and his casting team to select the actress who will accompany him, and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov onboard Soyuz MS-19.

Rogozin continued, "At the end of the day, we have to understand that it is always the Director who decides who he will work with. It is important for us now to show him, which of these girls is ready to handle the challenge of the spaceflight." He explained that, as expected, there had been a high elimination rate among the twenty actresses who had entered the final phase of the contest. Their names are Alena Mordovina (b 1987), Yulia Peresild (b 1984), Sofya Arzhakovskaya (aka Sofya Skya) (b 1987), and Galina Kairova (b 1994).

According to Rogozin, the leading lady, who will join the Prime Crew of Soyuz MS-19, and her understudy/back-up, will now be selected by Klim Shipenko's creative and casting team, and the TV company First Channel, over the next couple of weeks. Once the actress is chosen, and contracted, the whole crew for Soyuz MS-19, which will be commanded by Shkaplerov, and their back-ups are due to be confirmed, by the State Commission on 13th May. This will tie in with the official announcement which Rogozin alluded to, being made two days later. The only loose end, is the identity of Klim Shipenko's back-up. (4/27)

The Hunt for the UK's Moon Trees (Source: Space Daily)
There could be as many as 15 Moon Trees in the UK - trees grown from seeds flown around the Moon by NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. But where are they now? The Royal Astronomical Society and the UK Space Agency would love to know, in their joint quest to find these living pieces of space history.

Roosa took around 500 seeds from trees like the Sycamore - in the US known as the Sycamore Maple - and the Loblolly Pine with him on the mission. Although most of them were planted in the United States, around 15 may have come to the UK. If the resulting trees or their descendants could be traced, they might make a suitable planting as a slightly delayed way of marking the RAS bicentenary, celebrated in 2020.

Professor Miller has followed up various leads, but so far without success. Kew Gardens and the Jodrell Bank Arboretum have no records of the seeds that supposedly came to the UK. The RAS has been promised a cutting from a second-generation Moon Tree, growing in a private garden in the village of Flamstead in the Chiltern Hills to the north of London. "We're incredibly grateful for that," said Professor Miller. "But we still want to know if any Apollo 14 seeds did come to the UK and - if so - just what happened to them?" (4/21)

New Argument for Life in the Martian Underground (Source: TIME)
The Kidd Creek Mine in Ontario is a hard place for microbes to make a living. More than a mile below ground, the mine ought to be an organic wasteland, home to metals, minerals and water, yes, but metals, minerals and water that have't seen sunlight in more than a billion years. As it happens, though, microbes do just fine there—thrive, even—and a new study in the journal Astrobiology argues that what happens in Canada's underground could well be happening below the Martian surface too. (4/26)