May 18, 2021

FAA, NASA Collaborating to Regulate Suborbital Space (Source: FNN)
The FAA and NASA recently entered into a memorandum of understanding with the aim of growing American commercial space transportation capabilities, including commercial crew and cargo activities. The agencies hope this will help create a framework that companies can operate in a safe and cost-effective manner, as well as streamline spaceflight standards and requirements. Click here. (5/17)

Discovery Adventure TV Show to Launch Winning Contestant to the Space Station (Source: CNBC)
Discovery announced a competitive adventure TV show called “Who Wants To Be An Astronaut?” that will launch the winning contestant to the International Space Station. The eight part series is scheduled to take place in 2022, with the winner expected to get a seat on Axiom Space’s AX-2 mission and spend eight days onboard the ISS. Discovery’s TV show is open to members of the public, with an online application asking for a one-minute video and answers to a number of questions. (5/18)

South Korea to Join NASA’s Artemis Project (Source: Space News)
South Korea is in last-minute negotiations with the United States to join NASA’s Artemis program, a news outlet here reported May 18, citing government sources. The negotiations are underway between U.S. officials and South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and ICT with the goal of reaching a deal before the May 21 summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden at the White House, according to Edaily. If it happens, the agreement will be included in a joint statement to be issued by the two leaders, it said. (5/18)

Redundancy Now, or Redundancy Never? (Source: Space Review)
The two companies that lost to SpaceX in NASA’s Human Landing System program have filed protests with the GAO, and a Senate bill would direct NASA to make a second HLS award. Jeff Foust reports on the cases the companies and their congressional advocates are making, and both the benefits and costs of redundancy. Click here. (5/17)
 
Build Back Better (Source: Space Review)
The first successful flight of SpaceX’s Starship to an altitude of ten kilometers earlier this month provided new momentum for the company’s plans to revolutionize space access. Robert Oler examines what it could mean for both NASA and other space companies. Click here. (5/17)
 
Why the China-Russia Space Alliance Will Speed Up Human Exploration of Mars (Source: Space Review)
Chinese and Russian officials signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year that could lead to joint missions to the Moon and perhaps even Mars. John Wolfram argues this could provide new incentive for the US to remain at the forefront of human space exploration. Click here. (5/17)

60 Years Later, Is it Time to Update the Drake Equation? (Source: Phys.org)
Frank Drake and Carl Sagan held the very first SETI conference 60 years ago, wherein the subject of looking for possible extraterrestrial radio signals would be discussed. In preparation for the meeting, Drake prepared the following heuristic equation: N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L. This would come to be known as the "Drake equation," which is considered by many to be one of the most renowned equations in the history of science.

John Gertz—a film producer, amateur astronomer, board member with BreakThrough Listen, and the three-term former chairman of the board for the SETI Institute—argues in a recent paper that a factor-by-factor reconsideration is in order. For many scientists, the profound discoveries that have taken place in the past few decades (which have reduced the level of uncertainty with some of the equation's variables) have called into question the very utility of the equation itself. Click here. (5/17)

Alien Radioactive Element Prompts Creation Rethink (Source: Space Daily)
The first-ever discovery of an extraterrestrial radioactive isotope on Earth has scientists rethinking the origins of the elements on our planet. The tiny traces of plutonium-244 were found in ocean crust alongside radioactive iron-60. The two isotopes are evidence of violent cosmic events in the vicinity of Earth millions of years ago. Star explosions, or supernovae create many of the heavy elements in the periodic table, including those vital for human life, such as iron, potassium and iodine.

To form even heavier elements, such as gold, uranium and plutonium it was thought that a more violent event may be needed, such as two neutron stars merging. However, a study led by Professor Anton Wallner suggests a more complex picture. "The story is complicated - possibly this plutonium-244 was produced in supernova explosions or it could be left over from a much older, but even more spectacular event such as a neutron star detonation." Any plutonium-244 and iron-60 that existed when the Earth formed from interstellar gas and dust over four billion years ago has long since decayed, so current traces of them must have originated from recent cosmic events in space. (5/17)

Modernization Investments Needed to Protect Space Domain, Space Force Chief Says (Source: AFNS)
The United States is a spacefaring nation, which depends on access to space and freedom to maneuver in space. However, there's a potential for conflict in space that could affect the lives of every American, said the chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force. Space Force Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond spoke at the McAleese "FY2022 Defense Programs" conference in Washington, D.C.

The threat demands balancing investments across four broad areas, he said. "First, we have to defend the architecture that we rely on today. Secondly, we have to shift to a more defendable architecture. Third, we must evolve offensive capability to be able to deny benefits and impose costs on our adversaries. And finally, the Space Force has to look at what other missions should go to space, now that technology allows us to do so and launch costs have gone down, so we can do it more effectively and efficiently."

Missile warning capabilities need to evolve into survivable architectures, he said. The U.S. also needs to modernize across the entire GPS architecture to deliver assured precision, navigation and timing capabilities in denied environments. Command and control capabilities must also be upgraded to meet the growing threat. (5/17)

Engine Problem to Blame on Rocket Lab Failure (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab said Monday that an issue with the second stage engine on its Electron rocket caused the failure of a launch Saturday. Initial reviews of the data suggest an issue of some kind with the engine triggered a shutdown command by the stage's computer system. Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said he was "confident in a swift and reliable return to flight with minimal impact on our launch manifest this year." The rocket's first stage, which performed normally, splashed down and was recovered as part of Rocket Lab's effort to eventually reuse the stage. (5/17)

SpaceX Delivers New Falcon 9 Booster for the First Time in 8 Months (Source: Teslarati)
For the first time in eight months, SpaceX has delivered a new Falcon 9 booster to its Florida launch facilities in preparation for the second launch of its upgraded Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft. Known as B1067, the rocket is the first new Falcon 9 booster produced – or delivered – by SpaceX since Falcon 9 B1062 arrived in Florida around early September 2020. Scheduled to debut as early as June 3rd, SpaceX has assigned the new Falcon 9 booster to support Cargo Dragon 2’s second International Space Station (ISS) cargo delivery for NASA. (5/18)

Opposition to Proposed SpaceX Launch Site in Indonesia (Source: Space Daily)
In December 2020, the Indonesian government had offered the Papuan island of Biak, home to some 100,000 inhabitants, to the centibillionare Elon Musk as a potential launch site for the SpaceX Mars-bound expedition. At a local level, government officials say the project will help enhance the economic development of the residents of Biak, a rural island where urban infrastructure is lacking.

Most recently, local news reported on March 11 that the Indonesian government has denied making the offer to Elon Musk, although a report published in late March by JUBI, a news website based in the capital city of Papua, Jayapura, claims the SpaceX project in Biak is still ongoing. It is still unclear whether Musk has confirmed his acceptance of the government's offer. However, many Biak residents have voiced strong opposition to the project. They fear it may damage their natural environment, have negative impacts on their cultures and livelihoods, and displace communities from their homes and villages. (5/18)

Cubesat Telescope Was Rideshare Payload on Recent Starlink Launch (Source: Space News)
A mysterious secondary payload on a Falcon 9 launch this weekend is a cubesat with a small telescope. Neither SpaceX nor Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems offered details about Tyvak-0130 when it was launched as a rideshare payload on a Falcon 9 Saturday. The company's new CEO, Christian "Boris" Becker, said in an interview the satellite is a 6U cubesat that contains a compact telescope jointly developed by Tyvak and Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Becker said Tyvak plans to test the optical imaging payload and then decide if remote sensing services can be made available to customers. (5/18)

ABL Wins DoD Launch Contract (Source: Space News)
ABL Space Systems has won a launch contract from the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). The unidentified military payload will launch on ABL's RS1 small launch vehicle currently under development. DIU became an early supporter of emerging space launch companies like Rocket Lab, Virgin Orbit and Relativity Space, which previously won contracts for military launches. ABL says the first RS1 should be ready for launch this summer, but that it may not complete the regulatory approvals needed for that launch until the third quarter. (5/18)

Final Astronaut Named for Next SpaceX Commercial Crew Mission (Source: Space News)
NASA added an astronaut to a commercial crew mission launching this fall. NASA said Monday that Kayla Barron will be part of the Crew-3 mission launching to the International Space Station as soon as Oct. 23 on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer had previously been assigned to Crew-3, but NASA held the fourth seat open in the event it was able to work out a seat barter agreement with Roscosmos and thus fly a Russian cosmonaut on that mission. NASA officials acknowledged last month it was unlikely that agreement could be completed in time to assign a cosmonaut to Crew-3. (5/18)
 
Space Force Focuses on Data Management Strategy (Source: Space News)
The Space Force plans to spend billions of dollars over the next decade to create a "digital enterprise architecture." The Space Force will pursue a data management strategy known as "data as a service" to consolidate information into cloud platforms so it can be analyzed with artificial intelligence tools and delivered to users much faster than with current manual processes. The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) awarded Palantir a $32.5 million contract last month for data as a service, and SMC wants to start a larger effort with multiple providers that could be worth billions of dollars over 10 years. (5/18)

Warnock Urges FAA Not To ‘Cut Corners’ On Spaceport Review (Source: WABE)
A Georgia senator cautioned the FAA not to "cut corners" on an environmental assessment of a proposed spaceport in the state. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote in a letter to the FAA Monday about "possible shortcomings in the environmental review process" for Spaceport Camden in Camden County, Georgia. That review started in 2015 and a final environmental impact statement is due to be released in weeks. Warnock said he was not taking a position on whether the spaceport should go forward but was "troubled" by complaints about the project. The spaceport previously enjoyed bipartisan support from the state's entire congressional delegation. (5/18)

New Phoebus Contract Paves the Way for Future Composite Rocket Stages for Ariane Rockets (Source: Space Daily)
The European Space Agency (ESA) and ArianeGroup, lead contractor and design authority for Ariane 6, have signed a new technological development contract in the field of carbon composites. The PHOEBUS (Prototype of a Highly OptimizEd Black UpperStage) program will increase the maturity of the technologies needed to lower both the manufacturing cost and the weight of the Ariane 6 upper stage.

The goal is thus to improve its performance (in particular, an increased payload capacity of about two metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit), and to validate a new stage architecture. One of the main challenges is to ensure that the composites are just as tight and robust as metal parts for the extremely cold and penetrating liquid hydrogen. This new contract demonstrates the confidence of the ESA and DLR space agencies in our team and in our partner MT Aerospace. (5/18)

China's Core Space Station Module Completes Initial Orbital Testing (Source: Xinhua)
China says the core module of its new space station has completed initial tests. The China Manned Space Agency said the Tianhe module, launched April 29, completed "platform function tests" that confirmed it's ready for other spacecraft to dock with it. China plans to launch the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft to dock with the module later this week. (5/18)

European Startup Builds Oxygen-Making Machine for 2025 Moon Mission (Source: Space.com)
A European startup is perfecting technology that will be sent to the moon to make oxygen from lunar soil as part of a 2025 European Space Agency (ESA) demonstration mission. Belgium-based Space Applications Services is building three experimental reactors under a contract with ESA. The reactors will be used to fine-tune the oxygen-making process to be tested on the moon as part of the planned in situ resource utilization demonstration (ISRU) mission in 2025. The oxygen-making machine will rely on the FFC Cambridge process, using electrolysis to separate the pure metal from the ore. (5/17)

Kraft Memorabilia Up for Auction (Source: CollectSpace)
Memorabilia owned by NASA's first flight director, Chris Kraft, will be auctioned this week. Among the items from Kraft's estate that will be sold by Heritage Auctions on Friday include the headset that Kraft wore in mission control for the Mercury missions and another from the early shuttle missions, as well as various mementos given to Kraft during his NASA career. Kraft died in 2019 at the age of 95. (5/18)

Understanding Muscle Wasting in Space at the Molecular Level (Source: Space Daily)
Most of us have imagined how free it would feel to float around, like an astronaut, in conditions of reduced gravity. But have you ever considered what the effects of reduced gravity might have on muscles? Gravity is a constant force on Earth which all living creatures have evolved to rely on and adapt to. Space exploration has brought about many scientific and technological advances, yet manned spaceflights come at a cost to astronauts, including reduced skeletal muscle mass and strength.

Conventional studies investigating the effects of reduced gravity on muscle mass and function have used a ground control group that is not directly comparable to the space experimental group. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba set out to explore the effects of gravity in mice subjected to the same housing conditions, including those experienced during launch and landing. (5/13)