May 13, 2021

Xplore Reveals Plans to Open Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Seattle Area (Source: GeekWire)
Xplore, a Seattle-area startup that aims to build satellites for interplanetary missions, has a new address in Redmond, Wash. — in the same office complex that once housed the Planetary Resources asteroid-mining venture. “Xplore’s 22,000-square-foot facility is tailor-made for satellite manufacturing,” Lisa Rich, the company’s founder and chief operating officer, said today in a news release. “It is large, expandable and can currently accommodate the research, development, production and operation of 20 spacecraft per year.” (5/12)

Maritime Launch Services Achieves Funding to Develop Canadian Spaceport in Nova Scotia, First Launch Next Year (Source: CBC)
Maritime Launch Services has raised funding to develop a Canadian spaceport. The company said it raised $10.5 million Canadian from Toronto investment bank PowerOne Capital Markets, which will go towards construction of a launch site near Canso, Nova Scotia. That site will be first used for an unidentified small launch vehicle starting in 2022, followed in 2023 by the Ukrainian Cyclone 4M medium-class launcher. Construction of the launch site will begin this fall after the company meets the conditions of an environmental approval for the site. (5/13)

Ark Invest EFT Sheds Most Virgin Galactic Shares (Source: CNBC)
A space-themed exchange-traded fund (ETF) has sold nearly all its shares in Virgin Galactic. Ark Invest's ARKX fund sold more than 290,000 shares it held in Virgin Galactic Tuesday, leaving the fund with less than 8,000 shares, or 0.02% of the overall fund. Virgin Galactic's stock price has fallen far from its peak early this year, including an 11% decline Wednesday. The ARKX fund, which includes some traditional aerospace companies as well as others with only tangential connections to space, has also fallen since its debut earlier this year. (5/13)

Climate Change Decreases Upper Atmosphere Density, Contributing to Orbital Debris (Source: New York Times)
Climate change could be contributing to the growing orbital debris problem. A new study found that the warming atmosphere results in decreased density at upper altitudes. That decreased density reduces the drag on objects in low Earth orbit, causing them to remain in orbit for longer periods. In a worst-case scenario presented at a recent conference, that warmer, less dense atmosphere would increase the population of debris in LEO by a factor of 50 in 2100. (5/13)

Blue Origin’s Loss to SpaceX on the Lunar Contract May Get Congress to Do Something it Hadn’t Done Before: Give NASA Extra Money (Source: Washington Post)
For the past couple of years, top NASA officials have lobbied Congress to give the space agency enough money so that it could land the next astronauts on the moon by 2024. To meet that goal, NASA requested $3.3 billion for this year to develop a spacecraft capable of ferrying the first humans to the lunar surface since the Apollo era. Instead, despite an intense lobbying campaign led by former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, Congress appropriated $850 million — a sizable amount but only a fraction of what NASA said it needed.

Now, it seems Jeff Bezos may be having more luck pulling money out of Congress for NASA’s moon mission than the space agency itself has had. With the limited funding, NASA said it could afford to pay for only a single company to build its lunar lander and last month it awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX the contract. As a result, Bezos’s space venture, Blue Origin, lost out after bidding $6 billion, or twice what SpaceX had said it would charge.

Blue Origin took to Capitol Hill, lobbying its allies in Congress to force NASA to come up with the additional money and make a second award. On Wednesday, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) of Washington state, where Blue Origin is headquartered, came through, introducing legislation that calls for NASA to do just that. The legislation, which passed as an amendment to another bill, would authorize but not appropriate an additional $10 billion to the Artemis program through fiscal 2026. It also calls for NASA to pick a second winner for the contract. (5/12)

What is Australia's Space Division, and Why is it in the Military? (Source: ABC News)
It's official: planning is underway for the Australian military to launch its own space division in 2022, with its chief already appointed. It was announced over the weekend that Royal Australian Air Force Air Vice-Marshal Catherine Roberts will lead the division from January. The newly created military space command, which will draw on all aspects of the Australian Defence Force, will "allow us to establish an organisation to sustain, force-generate, operate space capabilities and assign them to a joint operation command if needed", according to RAAF chief Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld.

The RAAF chief has said previously that unlike other nations like China and Russia, Australia would not seek to develop technologies to attack enemy satellites. But what does that mean? Why is the proposed Australian space division in the military? And how does it compare to others around the world? As far as international movers and shakers in space defence go, you may think Australia is a bit player. But while we may seem like small fry when compared to the likes of the US, Australia already has an impressive track record in communications and observation satellites, said Cassandra Steer, space law lecturer and mission specialist with the Australian National University's Institute of Space.

These satellites are particularly important for farming and mining in remote areas, for instance. Protecting these assets is what the new space division will likely focus on, Dr Steer said. Essentially, Dr Steer said, the issue of "space traffic management" is a safety and security threat. A local space division will let the military develop and sling small satellites into orbit that will not only keep an eye on space debris, but help people on the ground investigate further should a suspicious collision occur. (5/12)

India’s Geo Imaging Satellite GISAT-1 Launch Further Delayed (Source Telangana Today)
Uncertainty continues to dog the flight of India’s first Geo Imaging Satellite (GISAT-1) this time due to coronavirus spread across the country, said an official of Indian space agency. The GISAT-1 will be the country’s first sky eye or earth observation satellite to be placed in geostationary orbit. The satellite supposed to be put into orbit this month is all set to be delayed as employees at various centres of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) including that of the rocket launch center in Sriharikota were affected by Covid-19. (5/12)

NASA’s Apollo Program Wasn’t Sustainable, But with Commercial Space, Artemis Can Be (Source: Click Orlando)
There is now a commercial space company boom driving the return to the moon -- not only for the U.S., but around the world. “It’s a shift in the way that NASA does things from how it used to do it, where NASA owned the hardware, NASA owned the mission, NASA owned everything, and funded everything to this difference that started really about a decade ago -- starting with sending cargo to the International Space Station. NASA contracts that out to private company by buying services,” said Laura Forcyzk, referring to NASA’s commercial resupply services program.

“NASA is asking for who can give us the best deal to take this experiment or capability to the moon. And then it’s up to us to also sell additional services to other customers, if we will, to make the whole mission and business case work,” Intuitive Machines co-founder Tim Crain said. “So, that’s been really exciting to go out and say, ‘Hey, we were taking the stuff to the moon for NASA. Who else wants to go, and how do we fill the holes of our ship?’ Basically, to make good commerce.”

This time, the U.S. plans to stay on the moon with a sustainable presence with the help of international and commercial partners. Forcyzk said during the Apollo era, no one could have predicted the commercial space boom fueling today’s growing industry. Had NASA continued with a human presence on the moon for more than 50 years without commercial support, it likely would not have been sustainable financially or politically. (5/12)

NASA Authorization Bill Includes Approves Funding Second Human Landing System (Source: Space News)
An amendment to a Senate bill approved by a committee Wednesday would direct NASA to select a second Human Landing System (HLS) company. The Senate Commerce Committee approved on a voice vote a NASA authorization bill as an amendment to the Endless Frontier Act, a National Science Foundation bill. That NASA authorization amendment included language directing NASA to have at least two HLS providers under contract 30 days after the bill becomes law.

It authorizes a little more than $10 billion for the HLS program, but funding would have to be appropriated separately and on an annual basis. The committee did not debate the NASA amendment but the committee's chair, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), has been a vocal advocate for having two HLS companies. It's unclear whether the amendment will be included in the final version of the bill, or how NASA would select a second provider. (5/13)

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Undergoes Final Tests Ahead of Launch (Source: NBC News)
The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's successor to the prolific Hubble Space Telescope, is undergoing final tests ahead of its much-anticipated launch later this year. Engineers are taking one last look at the telescope's giant honeycomb-shaped primary mirror, marking the final time that the instrument is fully unfurled on Earth. The tests are an important milestone before the observatory is packed and shipped to French Guiana, where it is scheduled to launch into space Oct. 31. (5/12)

Ariane-5 Fairing Issue Could Delay JWST Launch (Source: Space News)
An issue with the Ariane 5 could delay the launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Arianespace said Wednesday that there was "a less than fully nominal separation of the fairing" on two recent Ariane 5 launches, including the most recent launch in August 2020. The company said it's working with prime contractor ArianeGroup and Ruag, which makes the payload fairings, to correct the issue. Industry sources said that, on those launches, the release of the fairings imparted vibrations on the satellite payloads well above allowed levels.

Arianespace has not disclosed when the next Ariane 5 launch is scheduled, although a customer for that launch, Eutelsat, said it's planned for the third quarter. NASA officials said this week they expect JWST to launch on an Ariane 5 four months after the vehicle's return to flight, which suggests it may be delayed from its currently scheduled Oct. 31 launch date. (5/13)

General Relativity Passes Crucial Neutron-Star Test (Source: Physics World)
Multimessenger observations of neutron stars have been used by astrophysicists in the US to put Einstein’s general theory of relativity to the test – and the 106 year old theory has passed with flying colors. A neutron star is the dense, core remnant of a massive star that has exploded as a supernova. Containing more mass than the Sun but only spanning 10–12 km in radius, neutron stars are incredibly dense and generate huge gravitational fields.

These extreme conditions provide a laboratory for testing both the Standard Model of particle physics and general relativity. In 2019, NICER directly measured the mass and radius of the isolated neutron star PSR J0030+0451, irrespective of the equation of state. Now, researchers used these measurements to calculate the star’s moment of inertia, and then used the I-Love-Q relation to derive the Love number and quadrupole moment. Meanwhile, gravitational-wave measurements of the neutron-star merger GW 170817 provided an independent measure of the Love number for a neutron star with similar mass to PSR J0030+0451.

Knowing these two values permitted a test of general relativity. “The test is to check whether the inferred value of the Love number from the ‘I-Love’ relation is the same as the one measured with LIGO,” Yunes tells Physics World. “If it is, you’ve passed the test! If it isn’t, then it’s a sign of deviation from general relativity.” This deviation from general relativity would be detectable in the polarization of gravitational waves measured by LIGO/Virgo, or in the frequency of gravitational waves emitted by binary black holes. In this case, general relativity successfully passed the test. (5/12)

Around 7,000 Tonnes of Space Debris is in the Earth's Orbits (Source: TASS)
About 3,000 tonnes of operating vehicles and about 7,000 tonnes of space debris are in the Earth's orbits, according to a Roscosmos official. "According to various estimates, there are currently about 7,000 tonnes of space debris and 3,000 tonnes of operating spacecraft, including the International Space Station, in near-earth orbits," Igor Bakaras said.

According to him, space debris includes all artificial objects and their fragments in space that do not function and will never be able to serve useful purposes, while being a dangerous factor affecting operating spacecraft. "On the basis of statistical estimates, it was concluded that the total number of objects of this kind (more than 1 cm in size) is quite uncertain and can reach from hundreds of thousands to a million," Bakaras said, adding that less than 5% of these objects are found, tracked, and cataloged by ground-based radar and optical means. (5/13)

UK's Arqit Raises $400M in SPAC Deal for Satellites (Source: Space News)
British quantum technology encryption startup Arqit is raising $400 million through a SPAC deal to fund the launch of two satellites. Arqit's merger with Centricus Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded SPAC, values the company at $1.4 billion. Virgin Orbit invested $5 million into Arqit and will launch its first satellites in 2023. Arqit says the funding will go towards satellites that will support quantum encryption technology it calls QuantumCloud. The startup says its technology will secure communications links of any networked device against hacking, including attacks from a quantum computer. (5/13)

Space Force Aims to Take on an Air Force Surveillance Mission (Sources: Space News, Defense One)
The Space Force will work with the Air Force to develop radar satellites to track moving objects on the ground. A project to look at the use of radar satellites for ground moving target indicator (GMTI) services has been pursued in secret since 2018 by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. Gen. John Raymond, head of the Space Force, said Wednesday that the effort will be discussed more openly to allow more participation from the commercial space industry.

Such satellites would carry out work currently done by JSTARS aircraft, addressing Air Force concerns about the vulnerability of those aircraft when flying above combat zones. Raymond said that the Space Force will work with both the Air Force and the intelligence community, which has traditionally operated radar satellites, so that the new GMTI satellites are complementary. (5/13)

ULA Prepares to Launch Missile Warning Satellite at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Final preparations are underway for the launch of a missile warning satellite next week. Technicians have installed the SBIRS GEO-5 satellite atop its Atlas 5 launch vehicle for a launch scheduled for Monday afternoon from Cape Canaveral. The satellite will be the latest in a series of Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft that track missile launches from geostationary orbit. This satellite features upgrades from earlier SBIRS satellites, including a modernized version of the LM 2100 satellite bus that the company calls a "combat bus." (5/13)

Elon Musk is Turning Boca Chica Into a Space-Travel Hub. Not Everyone is Starstruck (Source: Texas Monthly)
Perhaps in the distant future historians in far-flung corners of the solar system will note that the twenty-first-century Texas space program did not get off to a particularly strong start. The first proper test of the Starship, the (aspirationally) reusable rocket offered by the SpaceX corporation and launched from the southern tip of the Lone Star State, took place on December 9, 2020. The rocket climbed some 41,000 feet, halted as it was supposed to, and returned to its landing pad—much too rapidly. Crunch.

The second test, in February, crunched too. The next, on March 3, appeared to land mostly intact but exploded eight minutes later. On March 30, the fourth test didn’t even make it back to the pad: near the apogee of its flight, it blew up with a calamitous boom, spreading shrapnel more than five miles afield. “Looks like we’ve had another exciting test,” announced  the sheepish narrator on SpaceX’s official livestream. “Flying debris and pieces of Starship; there’s stuff smoking on the ground in front of the camera!” said the host of a privately run livestream, one of many catering to the company’s fans, its lens pointed at the landing pad in the town of Boca Chica as steel chunks rained down with frightening velocity. Oh, the humanity!

In Boca Chica village, the company ushered out residents, many of them retirees, with what some locals claim were heavy-handed tactics, pressuring them to sell their homes. Local bird populations are under strain as human activity ramps up. During tests, public beaches are frequently closed with little warning or notice. In exchange, Cameron County is becoming a mecca for Musk fans and space enthusiasts from around the world—and may, indeed, have become an unlikely launchpad to the solar system. (5/12)

Space Adventures’ Client, Yusaku Maezawa, Plans for Mission to the International Space Station (Source: Space Adventures)
Space Adventures announced that Yusaku Maezawa has begun preparations for a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by successfully passing the required medical examinations. He and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano, are planning to launch on the Russian Soyuz MS-20 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on December 8, 2021. The duration of the spaceflight will be 12 days and will be commanded by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. Mr. Maezawa and his crew will begin approximately three months of spaceflight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. (5/13)

Human Conception and Childbirth in Space (Source: Room)
Many space agencies and private space companies are preparing missions for human settlements on the Moon and Mars. SpaceBorn United researches the field of human reproduction in space to help enable the conditions that will, one day, make such settlements independent. Here, its CEO, Dr Egbert Edelbroek, describes its missions, ethos and plans for conception and childbirth in space in an article based on his talk at the Asgardia Space Science & Investment Congress (ASIC) in Darmstadt, Germany, in October.

Government agencies and companies alike find space life science challenges difficult to address, especially when they concern human reproduction in space. The subject is a delicate one and is often seen as controversial by taxpayers and other observers. But steps need to be taken in order to make the ambitions for independent settlements feasible. Becoming a multi-planetary species clearly requires learning how to reproduce in space. Thus space agencies acknowledge the need for this research and explicitly encourage independent, focused companies to address this challenge. SpaceBorn United has embraced it and the company translates the outcomes of its research into mission designs and biomedical equipment required for those missions. (5/13)

How to Keep Spacesuit ‘Underwear’ Clean? (Source: ESA)
Spacewalking is a major highlight of any astronaut’s career. But there is a downside: putting on your spacesuit means sharing some previously-worn underlayers. A new ESA study is looking into how best to keep these items clean and hygienic as humans venture on to the Moon and beyond. During the Space Shuttle era, each astronaut was issued with their own ‘External Mobility Unit’, the official term for a spacesuit. But crews aboard the International Space Station have shifted to sharing suits, with differently sized segments put together to fit a given spacewalker.

The first item spacewalkers put on is a (disposable) ‘Maximum Absorbency Garment’ diaper, then their own ‘Thermal Comfort Undergarment’, followed by the long-underwear-like Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG). Worn next to the skin, the LCVG incorporates liquid cooling tubes and gas ventilation to keep its wearer cool and comfortable during the sustained physical exertion of work in hard vacuum. But the LCVG is reused by different spacewalkers along with the spacesuits themselves.

Such reuse is expected to grow once crews are established aboard the Gateway later this decade, a new international space station in lunar orbit. With such long-term sharing in mind, ESA has commenced a new project called ‘Biocidal Advanced Coating Technology for Reducing Microbial Activity’, or BACTeRMA for short. “We are already investigating candidate materials for outer spacesuit layers so this early technology development project is a useful complement, looking into small bacteria-killing molecules that may be useful for all kinds of spaceflight textiles, including spacesuit interiors.” (5/12)

NASA Awards Multi-Center Support Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected Manufacturing Technical Solutions of Huntsville, Alabama, to provide the Consolidated Program Support Services (CPSS) Program, Planning, and Control (PP&C) at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, with the potential to provide these services to other NASA centers. The agencywide performance-based contract has a potential value of approximately $67.4 million and a maximum potential IDIQ total value of $462.5 million. (5/12)

Testing Software So it’s Reliable Enough for Space (Source: Stack Overflow)
We’ve talked about the engineers who write the code that operates SpaceX spaceships. Now let’s talk about the people who build and maintain the tools and processes that enable the developers and ultimately, help accomplish the mission of flying astronauts to space. Click here. (5/11)

Network Protocols in Orbit: Building a Space-Based ISP (Source: Stack Overflow)
There are requirements that make software engineers sweat. Massive distribution to thousands of nodes. High reliability and availability. Multiple distinct platforms. Rapid network growth. This is the world SpaceX’s Starlink program, which has set a goal to provide high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. Click here. (5/11)

Don’t Push that Button: Exploring the Software that Flies SpaceX Rockets and Starships (Source: Stack Overflow)
Spaceflight, from the beginning, has depended on computers – both on the ground and in the spacecraft. SpaceX has carried it to a new level. We recently spoke with Steven Gerding, Dragon’s software development lead, about the special challenges software development has for SpaceX's many missions. Click here. (5/10)

Building the Software That Helps Build SpaceX (Source: Stack Overflow)
We’ve talked about the software that flies SpaceX rockets, the team that tests the code to ensure it’s airtight, and the code that helps Starlink satellites communicate with customers and one another. For our last piece, we’re diving into the work of a team that helps the vehicles get built. Click here. (5/12)

SmallSat Catalog Adds Aurora Propulsion ResistoJet Products (Source: Orbital Transports)
The SmallSat Catalog from Orbital Transports added new products from Aurora Propulsion Technologies to its line of small satellite propulsion systems. The inclusion of Aurora’s ARM-O and ARM-A ResistoJet modules broadens the range of capabilities available through the digital catalog of products and services for the small satellite industry. Aurora Propulsion’s ResistoJet propulsion technology uses a water-based propellant, satisfying range safety requirements during launch as well as during transport to the launch site.

Multiple variants of the ResistoJet module are available with applications for attitude control, orbit control, and custom use cases. Aurora’s ARM-O module is a propulsion system with 1 to 4 ResistoJet thrusters, suitable for orbit altitude changes, collision avoidance, station keeping, and rendezvous with the use of multiple modules. The ARM-A module provides full three-axis attitude control for any size CubeSat with 6 ResistoJet thrusters. Both modules are available in form factors ranging from 0.35U to 1U, with customized tank sizes also available. (5/13)

Freshly-Made Plutonium From Outer Space Found On Ocean Floor (Source: NPR)
Traces of rare forms of iron and plutonium have been found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, after some kind of cataclysm in outer space created this radioactive stuff and sent it raining down on our planet. The extra-terrestrial debris arrived on Earth within the last 10 million years, according to a report in the journal Science. Once it hit the Pacific Ocean and settled to the bottom, nearly a mile down, the material got incorporated into layers of a rock that was later hauled up by a Japanese oil exploration company and donated to researchers. (5/13)