April 8, 2021

Space Force to Establish a New Command in California to Oversee Technology Development and Acquisition (Source: Space News)
he U.S. Space Force on April 8 unveiled new details of its plan to establish a Space Systems Command in Los Angeles to oversee the development of next-generation technologies, and the procurement of satellites and launch services. The Space Systems Command, or SSC, will take over responsibilities currently performed by the Space and Missile Systems Center and by the Space Force launch wings in Florida and California that currently are not part of SMC. Altogether SSC will oversee a workforce of about 10,000 people.

The Space Force will re-designate the Space and Missile Systems Center as SSC headquarters. SMC, based at Los Angeles Air Force Base, in El Segundo, California, has a $9 billion annual budget and a workforce of about 6,300 military, civilian personnel and contractors. About 4,000 people who work for the space launch units at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California will be reassigned to SSC. Both space launch wings currently report to the Space Force’s Space Operations Command.

SSC will be one of three Space Force field commands the service announced in June. The Space Operations Command was established in October and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A Space Training and Readiness Command is projected to open later this year. All three field commands are led by three-star generals who answer to Gen. John Raymond, the chief of space operations. The commands operate under the authority of the secretary of the Air Force, the civilian leader of the Space Force. The Space Force is confident SSC can be stood up this summer but the exact timeline depends on when a three-star commander is nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate. (4/8)

Nanoracks Selected for NASA Grant to Advance Outpost Work (Source: Parabolic Arc)
NASA has selected Nanoracks for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to outfit its upper stage Outposts to provide data services for other space vehicles. Nanoracks is developing a modular hardware bus known as a Mission Extension Kit (MEK) that will convert upper stage boosters into Outposts after they have deployed their payloads. The MEK will provide power, pointing, data down/uplink, and maneuvering capabilities to the stage. (4/7)

Probing for Life in the Icy Crusts of Ocean Worlds (Source: Phys.org)
Long before NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, one of its highest-level mission goals was already established: to seek out signs of ancient life on the Martian surface. In fact, the techniques used by one of the science instruments aboard the rover could have applications on Saturn's moons Enceladus and Titan as well Jupiter's moon Europa.

Enceladus, Europa, and even the hazy moon Titan are thought to hide vast oceans of liquid water containing chemical compounds associated with biological processes below their thick icy exteriors—very different environments from modern Mars. If microbial life exists in those waters, scientists may be able to find evidence of it in the ice as well. But how to find that evidence if it's locked deep in the ice?

Enter WATSON. Short for Wireline Analysis Tool for the Subsurface Observation of Northern ice sheets, the 3.9-foot-long (1.2-meter-long) long tube-like prototype is undergoing development at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. It has been coupled to Honeybee Robotics' Planetary Deep Drill, and this combination was successfully tested in the extreme cold of Greenland's ice. A smaller version of WATSON could one day ride aboard a future robotic mission to explore the habitability potential of one of these enigmatic moons. (4/7)

Build a Robot Base on Mars (Source: Space News)
The currently operational SpaceX Falcon Heavy could throw a 10-ton class lander to Mars. The soon-to-be-operational NASA SLS and SpaceX Starship booster will be able to send a 20-ton lander. So we have that part covered. The next thing we need is the lander. The Perseverance landing system can deliver one ton to the surface of Mars. To get started with human exploration, we need a 10-ton class lander. There are a number of ways to create such a system, using aeroshells, parachutes and landing jets, or perhaps a miniature version of Starship. The bottom line is if we can land one ton on Mars we can land 10. It requires no scientific breakthroughs, just engineering.

Once we have a 10-ton lander, we can use it to send large robotic expeditions to Mars. Instead of landing one rover, we land a platoon of robots. These could include science explorers like Perseverance, and much bigger versions of the Ingenuity helicopter capable of wide-ranging reconnaissance. Smaller rovers armed with high-resolution cameras could create a high-definition map of the area, transmit to Earth, to allow millions of people here walk the landscape with virtual reality gear, directly assisting the robots in exploration by calling their attention to features of interest.

But the expedition would also include construction robots, possibly humanoid in form with arms and legs, capable of building a Mars base. These would set up a power system, and put in operation units for converting Martian carbon dioxide and water ice into methane and oxygen rocket propellant, and store it in tanks. With such a base set up and fully equipped with housing, power, a well-instrumented lab, a workshop, and supplies in advance, all astronauts will need to do is show up with a credit card, and check in. Everything they need to live and work on Mars, and return from Mars, will be there waiting for them. (4/7)

Elon's Secret Sauce (Source: Quartz)
Ken Davidian, a researcher at the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space, argues that commercial space follows an evolutionary model; reductively, a variety of options are presented to the market, which selects some to be retained, and the process begins anew. “Commercially successful results cannot necessarily be predicted,” he writes. “This is because evolution is a locally adaptive process whose course is not pre-determined. This also emphasizes that few people in an emerging commercial market know what they are doing, or why.”

The question of why SpaceX succeeded where so many others failed is at the heart of any narrative about the firm. Timing, in some sense, is everything: The convergence of technological advances, political circumstances, and business culture at the turn of the century gave SpaceX opportunities its predecessors didn’t have. Much of Musk’s obsession with hiring top talent, for example, is cribbed from Steve Jobs and Silicon Valley.

But if success in consumer technology were enough, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin would be in orbit by now. Musk’s single-minded drive to challenge the cozy space establishment and empower engineers to build the most cost-efficient rocket made SpaceX what it is. He could be generous with rewards, dispensing all-expenses paid vacations and soft-serve machines. (4/8)

Brazilian Space Agency Articulates Partnerships Focused on Alcântara (Source: Parabolic Arc)
It is located in Alcântara, Maranhão, the largest space vehicle launch center in the country. Created 38 years ago, and having started operating in 1991, it is preparing to launch private launches from 2022. With the successful launch of the Brazilian satellite Amazonia 1, in India, Brazil confirms its ability to design, integrate and operate satellites and other state-of-the-art systems. Henceforth, depending on size and mass, satellites may be launched from the Alcântara Space Center (CEA).

 According to the president of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB/MCTI), Carlos Moura, when making the first orbital launch from Alcântara, Brazil will become part of a restricted club of countries that are capable of placing satellites in orbit. And about CEA, Moura points out: “There is no point in developing technological services in Alcântara, having a world-class spaceport, and the population does not benefit from it. What we want is an integrated development, that everyone benefits from the opportunities offered by the space sector.”

Currently, one of the biggest challenges in the municipality of Alcântara is the difficulties related to logistics. Improving access to the region is fundamental to local development and, for that, the idea is to strengthen, for example, waterway transport between São Luís and Alcântara. More than focusing on middle activities and segments to support spatial development, AEB also encourages residents of the area to occupy technical posts in the Center. For this, it is necessary to boost the training of local labor. The partnership with the Federation of Industries of the State of Maranhão (Fiema) and other associated entities has been one of the relevant points of this planning. (4/8)

Space Florida, Florida Venture Forum to Host Annual Aerospace Innovation & Tech Forum on June 10 (Source: FSGC)
The Florida Venture Forum and Space Florida will host the annual Aerospace Innovation & Tech Forum on June 10, 2021. This virtual half day event will feature aerospace and innovative tech companies from related industries.

Companies are invited to apply to present and compete for the Space Florida’s “Accelerating Innovation” (AI) awards, totaling $100,000. Selected presenting companies must have a focus in aerospace and related innovative technologies to be eligible to compete for up to $100,000 in total allocated awards. The Grand Prize* winning company will receive $40,000. The first-place runner-up company will receive $30,000 and two second-place companies will receive $15,000 each. Click here. (4/8)

Spy Satellite Ready for Launch Atop Delta IV Heavy at California Spaceport (Source: ULA)
A national security payload of vital importance to the United States is mounted atop the only rocket in the world today capable of launching it -- ULA's Delta IV Heavy. With the vertical integration of the payload and rocket now complete, the final phase of the NROL-82 launch campaign is underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the targeted April 26 liftoff. The space asset being launched is a payload designed, built and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). (4/8)

Space-Based Solar Power Getting Key Test Aboard US Military's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane (Source: Space.com)
A U.S. military space plane is being used to flight-validate the best ways to gather the sun's energy for power beaming from Earth orbit. In mid-March, the latest classified mission of the U.S. Space Force's X-37B robotic space plane winged past 300 days in Earth orbit. Most of the robotic space drone's duties on this mission, known as Orbital Test Vehicle-6 (OTV-6), are a tightly held secret. However, one known bit of research that the craft carries is the Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module Flight Experiment, or PRAM-FX.

PRAM-FX is a Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) experiment that's investigating transforming solar power into radio frequency (RF) microwave energy. PRAM-FX is a 12-inch (30.5 centimeters) square tile that collects solar energy and converts it to RF power. Paul Jaffe, the innovation power beaming and space solar portfolio lead at NRL, said that PRAM-FX is not beaming microwave energy anywhere. Rather, the experiment is gauging the performance of sunlight-to-microwave conversion. To be measured is how the PRAM is performing from an efficiency standpoint and also from a thermal performance stance, he said. (4/8)

Orbcomm to be Acquired by GI Partners (Source: Orbcomm)
Orbcomm announced Thursday it will be acquired by a private equity company. GI Partners, which invests in data infrastructure, is paying $11.50 in cash per share of Orbcomm stock, valuing the company at $1.1 billion. Orbcomm operates a network of satellites to provide machine-to-machine connectivity in markets like logistics. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year, pending approval by Orbcomm shareholders and regulatory approvals. (4/8)

Latest Starlink Launch From Florida Brings System Close to Global Coverage (Source: Space News)
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites Wednesday as the company gets close to providing continuous global coverage. The company is a few launches away from providing continuous global coverage with Starlink, but will continue to launch satellites after that to add capacity. The FCC has yet to rule on a license modification that would allow SpaceX to fly more satellites in the 550-kilometer orbit currently used by the constellation. (4/8)

ESA Leader Calls for European Summit on Space (Source: Space News)
ESA's new leader outlined his priorities for the agency over the next four years. The ESA Agenda 2025 document, released Wednesday, sets five priorities for ESA, ranging from improving relations with the European Union on space activities to new efforts to support space commercialization in Europe. Josef Aschbacher, who became ESA's director general last month, said Europe needs a "serious debate" on its future in space, calling for a European "Space Summit" in the spring of 2022 to bring together European heads of state to discuss new initiatives. Aschbacher said he hopes to finalize negotiations on a new cooperative agreement with the EU on space activities by this summer. (4/8)

Europe and China Discuss Space Issues (Source: Space News)
ESA and Chinese officials also met recently to discuss space activities. Aschbacher and Zhang Kejian, administrator of the China National Space Administration, held a video call last week and discussed a range of topics. That included ongoing activities such as ESA's telemetry, tracking, and control support for the Chinese exploration program. An ESA official said the agency had no position on Chinese-Russian lunar cooperation, such as the proposed International Lunar Research Station. (4/8)

ULA Betting On Long-Endurance Upper Stage for Vulcan (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance remains interested in pursuing a "long-endurance" upper stage for its Vulcan rocket. ULA had pursued a concept for several years called the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES), but shelved it in favor of a version of the existing Centaur upper stage. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said at a conference Wednesday that the company is still betting on long-endurance upper stages and believes the technology has a bright future. He said ULA is confident upper stage capabilities will pay off as more infrastructure is developed in space. (4/8)

Bridenstine to Chair Voyager Space Holdings Advisory Board (Source: Space News)
Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will chair Voyager Space Holdings' advisory board. Voyager, which has acquired several space companies, most recently Nanoracks, said Bridenstine will provide expertise for its "aggressive and ambitious growth plan." Bridenstine joined the board of directors of Viasat last week and is also a senior adviser for private equity firm Acorn Growth Companies. (4/8)

Space Fund Attracts $536M in First Week of Trading (Source: Wall Street Journal)
A space-themed exchange-traded fund (ETF) has attracted more than half a billion dollars in its first week. Investors put $536.2 million into the ARK Space Exploration and Innovation ETF, also known as ARKX, as of Tuesday, far head of the average for new ETFs. ARKX features holdings in a number of companies, ranging from conventional aerospace firms like Boeing and Lockheed Martin to others, like Chinese ecommerce companies and tractor manufacturer Deere, whose association with space is tenuous at best. (4/8)

OSIRIS-REx Completes Final Fly-By of Bennu (Source: NASA/GSFC)
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft completed its final close approach to the asteroid Bennu Wednesday. The spacecraft came within 3.5 kilometers of the asteroid's surface in its first flyby since touching down on the surface to collect samples in October. Images and other data from the flyby will be transmitted back to Earth over the next week. The spacecraft will begin its journey back to Earth next month. (4/8)

Experiment Challenges "Standard Model" of Particle Physics (Source: Science News)
An experiment may have discovered a flaw in the "standard model" of particle physics. Physicists at Fermilab announced Wednesday that an experiment found that muons, a heavier version of electrons, behave unexpectedly when placed in a magnetic field. The precession of the magnetic poles of the muons diverged slightly from predictions, which could be evidence of new physics outside of the current standard model of subatomic particles. (4/8)

Space Tourist Heading to Bottom of the Sea (Source: CNBC)
A future space tourist is first heading to the bottom of the ocean. Larry Connor will participate in an expedition next week to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific. Connor, head of the real estate company The Connor Group, is helping fund the expedition. Earlier this year, Connor was named as one of the crew on Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission to the International Space Station, launching early next year. Connor would become only the third person to go both to space and to the deepest part of the ocean. (4/8)

Russia in 2021 Will Send the Last RD-180 Rocket Engines to the USA (Source: RIA Novosti)
The last batch of RD-180 rocket engines under the current contract will be delivered to the USA this year, said Igor Arbuzov, director general of NPO Energomash. "These engines are ready, but the coronavirus pandemic does not give us the opportunity to take them to the US. We will deliver them this year. They are the last under the current contract," he said. In December 2020, the public procurement website reported that six RD-180 engines would be sent to the United States in 2021. With each ULA Atlas rocket using two RD-180 engines, these six engines will support three launches. (4/8)

Brownsville TX Residents Express Concern About Gentrification Caused by SpaceX (Source: KVEO)
Recent SpaceX activity has sparked a wide range of emotions in the community. While some are excited about the opportunities brought to Cameron County by the aerospace company, others worry that its presence may have unintended consequences. The concern was evident at the Brownsville City Commission Meeting on Tuesday. Every resident present for the public comment period expressed their concerns about the presence of SpaceX in the community. 

Gentrification, the process where low-income communities are transformed by incoming wealthier residents that eventually displace the original inhabitants, was a concern frequently touched upon. “We will not accept the gentrification of downtown Brownsville, we will not accept the displacement of the majority of low-income people in downtown Brownsville,” said Brownsville resident Nansi Guevara during the meeting. (4/7)

SpaceX Wants to Fill In Wetlands at South Texas Launch Facility (Source: KRON)
SpaceX wants to fill in over 17 acres of wetlands near the company’s South Texas launch facility, which is drawing ire from environmentalists who are urging the public to object because they are uncertain of the effects this will have on Gulf currents, nesting sea turtles or other area wildlife. Monday is the last day the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will accept public comments on SpaceX’s proposal, which is posted on the Corps’ website. The company is proposing to fill in 10.94 acres of mud flats, 5.94 acres of estuarine wetlands, and 0.28 acres of non-tidal wetlands in remote Cameron County adjacent to Boca Chica Beach. (4/8)

China Plans New Coastal Launch Site (Source: Space Daily)
The port city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province is building a 20 billion yuan ($3.05 billion) rocket launch site to meet surging demand for putting satellites into orbit and further develop the industrial cluster of the commercial aerospace sector, according to the local authorities. Highlighted in the recently revealed draft for mega projects in Zhejiang during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the launch center will come up in Xiangshan county of the coastal city and will be able to put 100 satellites in orbit every year upon completion.

The Xiangshan center, located 30 degrees north of the equator, is suitable for launching satellites, thanks to its convenient transportation and an advantageous environment. It is scheduled to be spread over 67 square kilometers, including a 35-sq-km launch site and a 32-sqkm space industrial base. (4/8)

Russia is Dialing Up its Military Space Ambitions (Source: Axios)
Russia is staging shows of military might in orbit as its civil and commercial space sector loses its longstanding edge. These demonstrations threaten to undermine responsible behavior in space, and could put U.S. military — and possibly commercial — assets in orbit at risk. The U.S. in particular relies on space-based tools for situational awareness, communications, intelligence gathering and other key aspects of warfighting. Russia has steadily been building its military capabilities in orbit, according to a pair of reports about space weapons released last week. (4/6)

Mo Brooks Nabs Trump Endorsement in Alabama Senate Race (Source: Politico)
Former President Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) in the Alabama Senate race, a nod that could dramatically reshape next year's GOP primary for the state's open seat. In a state where Trump received more than 60 percent of the vote, his endorsement was widely sought after. Brooks and his rival, businesswoman Lynda Blanchard, had aggressively lobbied for the former president’s backing. (4/7)

Finding From Particle Research Could Break Known Laws of Physics (Source: New York Times)
Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle called a muon is disobeying the laws of physics as we thought we knew them, scientists announced on Wednesday. The best explanation, physicists say, is that the muon is being influenced by forms of matter and energy that are not yet known to science, but which may nevertheless affect the nature and evolution of the universe. The new work could lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of the universe more dramatic than the discovery in 2012 of the Higgs boson, a particle that imbues other particles with mass.

Muons are akin to electrons but far heavier. When muons were subjected to an intense magnetic field in experiments performed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Batavia, Ill., they wobbled like spinning tops in a manner slightly but stubbornly and inexplicably inconsistent with the most precise calculations currently available. The results confirmed results in similar experiments in 2001 that have tantalized physicists ever since.

The measurements have about one chance in 40,000 of being a fluke, the scientists reported, a statistical status called “4.2 sigma.” That is still short of the gold standard — “5 sigma,” or about three parts in a million — needed to claim an official discovery by physics standards. Promising signals disappear all the time in science, but more data are on the way that could put their study over the top. Wednesday’s results represent only 6 percent of the total data the muon experiment is expected to garner in the coming years. (4/7)

These Weird Lumps of 'Inflatons' Could be the Very First Structures in the Universe (Source: Space.com)
An ultra-high-resolution simulation of a tiny slice of the universe — a million times smaller than a proton — has revealed the very first structures to ever exist. And these dense structures are weird. The first trillionths of a second after the Big Bang, the universe was a hot, soupy place, place, heated to over a trillion degrees. Though scientists can't directly observe this moment in time, they can reconstruct it using high-powered computer simulations.

The new simulations, more detailed than ever before, showed how in these first instances gravity caused quantum particles known as inflatons to lump together. The results showed for the first time how these lumps then formed complex and dense structures that weighed between a few grams to 20 kilograms — roughly heavier than a postage stamp but lighter than a bulldog — packed into a space smaller than an elementary particle. (4/6)

Dark Matter 'Annihilation' May be Causing the Milky Way's Center to Glow (Source: Space.com)
A mysterious glow coming from the center of the Milky Way might be caused by annihilating dark matter — elusive matter that emits no light. According to new research, heavy dark matter particles may be destructively colliding at the center of the galaxy, creating elementary particles, as well as gamma rays — the unexplained light seen emanating from the galactic center.

The source of this unexplained light, called the galactic center excess (GCE), has been debated by scientists ever since it was discovered in 2009. When analyzing data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, scientists noticed a faint glow of gamma rays that couldn't be explained by known sources. In the years since, scientists have proposed a range of sources, from dark matter to more conventional sources, such as extremely fast-spinning stars called millisecond pulsars.

The results suggest that the dark matter particles have a mass of about 60 gigaelectron volts — roughly 60 times that of a proton. When these dark matter particles collide, they annihilate into muons and antimuons, or electrons and positrons. If this hypothesis is correct, dark matter particles like these could be made and detected here on Earth with existing experiments, such as the Large Hadron Collider, and will help scientists narrow their search. (4/5)

Lava Tubes in Hawaii Could be a Dress Rehearsal for Mars Colonies (Source: Space.com)
When humans build the first bases and habitats on other worlds, they'll confront dangers and challenges unlike any faced by the astronauts who went before them. To prepare for such challenges, scientists are descending deep underground into lava tubes in Hawaii that simulate conditions on rocky alien worlds.

There, mission crew members navigate uneven volcanic terrain and endure the physical constraints of performing research in a hostile environment. Wearing bulky suits like those required for extraterrestrial exploration, the scientists study the geology and organisms found in lava tunnels and caverns at Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano.

This unique research station at Mauna Loa is run by the International Moon Base Alliance (IMBA), an association working toward developing the first international moon base, according to the IMBA website. It is part of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-SEAS), which organizes analog missions for "astronaut" scientists, mimicking the experience of living on Mars and the moon. (4/6)