May 22, 2021

NASA, Boeing Target July 30 for Redo of Starliner Test Flight to ISS (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Boeing and NASA have nailed down a time for the oft-delayed retest of the CST-100 Starliner’s uncrewed flight to the International Space Station. The launch of the commercial crew program vehicle on Orbital Flight Test-2 is targeting 2:53 p.m. on Friday, July 30, atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission is being flown by Boeing at no extra cost to NASA after the company’s first attempt to dock with the ISS failed in December 2019. A successful flight would allow the company to move forward with a crewed test flight and eventually join SpaceX with the duty of ferrying astronauts to and from the station. (5/21)

Paragon Announced as Northrop Grumman Gateway HALO Partner (Source: Paragon)
Paragon Space Development Corporation (Paragon) is proud to announce it is part of the Northrop Grumman team for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) contract awarded by NASA. According to NASA, the HALO module will be roughly the size of a small apartment and able to accommodate short-duration stays for crews arriving on the Orion spacecraft. Paragon is responsible for the design and implementation of the HALO Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). (5/21)

Why Space Startups Should Be Careful About (and Sometimes Avoid) Foreign Entanglements (Source: GeekWire)
RBC Signals acts as a broker for global satellite connectivity services, and counts the U.S. government among its customers. But because RBC’s business model relies on partnerships with satellite ground stations around the world, RBC has to work with countries that the U.S. government views as rivals on the space frontier — specifically, Russia and China.

The troubles encountered by Momentus Space, one of RBC Signals’ customers, serve as a cautionary tale. The space-tug startup’s planned merger with a blank-check company, Stable Road Acquisition Corp., has been held up because of U.S. government concerns about Momentus’ Russian co-founders. Moreover, Momentus’ plans for its first launch have been stymied by the Federal Aviation Administration for similar reasons.

Foreign entanglements can bedevil well-established companies like Virgin Galactic as well: Several years ago, the space company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson had to win a licensing exemption from the State Department to fly non-U.S. citizens on its SpaceShipTwo space plane. Even after that exemption was granted, a controversy came up over selling tickets to Chinese citizens. (5/21)

Air Force Inspector General Takes Over Review of Fired Space Force Commander’s Speech (Source: Air Force Times)
The Air Force Inspector General will take over an ongoing investigation into the conduct of Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, a Space Force officer who was fired last week after publicly criticizing the Pentagon’s diversity push and what he believes is Marxism spreading in the ranks. Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of the Space Force’s operations command, removed Lohmeier, commander of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, from his post on May 14, according to a Space Force spokesperson. The lieutenant colonel was reassigned to an unnamed job.

At issue are comments Lohmeier made on the “Information Operation” podcast while promoting his self-published book, “Irresistible Revolution: Marxism’s Goal of Conquest and the Unmaking of the American Military.” At Whiting’s direction, Space Operations Command was looking into whether Lohmeier’s comments amounted to “prohibited partisan political activity,” according to Military.com, which first reported this story.

The IG decided to launch its own inquiry “due to the complexity and sensitivity of the issues under consideration, as well as potential for [Department of the Air Force-wide] impact,” service spokesperson Ann Stefanek said Thursday. It replaces Whiting’s investigation, which was suspended. (5/21)

The Pentagon Thinks UFOs May Exist After All... and the Evidence is Growing (Source: Telegraph)
A new report on unidentified flying objects set to be released next month shows the US government is taking aliens increasingly seriously. After decades of doing everything possible to keep reported sightings secret, there has been a sea change in how the Pentagon regards such sightings. For starters, it no longer refers to them as UFOs – with their connotations of little green men – but to UAPs, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. Next month, Congress is to be given an unclassified report on evidence collected by the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force, the Office of Naval Intelligence and the FBI.

Project Blue Book, a US Air Force unit, was set up to analyze thousands of sightings – but, in 1968, a 1,485-page government report written by physicist Edward Condon concluded that there was nothing of interest. “Further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified,” it said. For decades afterwards, anyone who reported seeing something strange in the sky was considered a crackpot – even leading lights in the US military. However, there remained a few highly influential figures who believed a mystery was there to be solved. The most powerful among them was Senator Harry Reid, the Democrat leader in the US Senate from 2005 to 2017.

In 2007, Mr Reid managed to push through Congress, clandestinely, $22 million in “black ops” funding for a new department. It was innocuously named the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). From a fifth-floor office deep inside the Pentagon, a real-life X-Files team studied hundreds of reported UFO sightings. Shortly after his departure from AATIP in 2017, Luis Elizondo told how his team established geographical “hot spots” for sightings, sometimes near nuclear facilities, and common ways in which UFOs moved. “We began to see trends and similarities in incidents – very distinct observables. Extreme maneuverability, hypersonic velocity without a sonic boom, speeds of 8,000 mph. A lot of this was supported by radar signal data, gun camera footage from aircraft, multiple witnesses.” (5/21)

Congress Questions if All Costs Considered in U.S. Space Command Basing Decision (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Some members of Congress are questioning whether the Air Force truly took all costs into consideration when making the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) asked the commander of U.S. Space Command Army Gen. James H. Dickinson on April 21 whether the cost of building a “secure” or “survivable” communications infrastructure—something already in place in Colorado Springs—had factored into the choice.

Colorado Springs has long been a hub of DOD’s space operations, and several of the state’s elected officials have objected to the basing decision in which the DOD invited communities to nominate themselves to host the headquarters. Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs was one of the six finalists, and Colorado officials have since said they think the choice was politically motivated and due diligence was lacking in the search.

The DAF led the search process, which is now the subject of two investigations: one by the Defense Department Office of Inspector General and one by the Government Accountability Office. During an April 21 House Armed Services strategic forces posture hearing Lamborn suggested that building a new communications infrastructure could cost $1 billion, and asked whether that had been accounted for in the Air Force’s decision. (5/21)

Martian Life May Be Hiding in Islands of Habitability (Source: Air & Space)
The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth, and is often used as an analog for Mars. An international group of researchers analyzed “islands of habitability” within the Atacama. We focused on rock types thought to host microorganisms best adapted to withstand a Mars-like environment—that is, characterized by extreme dryness, high ultraviolet irradiation, and scarcity of potential nutrients. That led us to zero in on three types: quartz rocks, gypsum crusts, and salt nodules surrounded by loose desert sediments.

Our approach employed a state-of-the-art methodology, including metagenomics and molecular separation techniques that are able to distinguish between DNA and ATP inside cells from those that exist outside. If we find them inside, it’s interpreted as coming from active, living cells. Applying this technique, we found that cyanobacteria on the underside of quartz rocks were continuously active and even reproducing, while the microbial communities populating gypsum crusts and salt rocks have a lifestyle that switches between dormant and active phases. (5/20)

mu Space Buys Bid Option for Satellite Slot (Source: Bangkok Post)
Thailand-based satellite and space tech firm mu Space and Advanced Technology bought a bid envelope for satellite orbital slot packages from the telecom regulator, which kicked off the bidding campaign Friday. The company was the first and only firm to buy a bid envelope worth 500,000 baht on the first day interested parties were allowed to do so by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). Envelopes can be purchased until June 20. (5/22)

SLS Rocket Core for Artemis 2 Mission Reaches Major Milestone (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have begun assembling the core stage for the second Space Launch System rocket, which aims to send people around the Moon in 2023. While the first Space Launch System core stage is being prepared for the Artemis 1 mission, slated for launch as early as later this year at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis 2 SLS core stage is nearing the completion of a major process at Michoud known as the “forward join.” The forward join is the process in which the intertank, forward skirt and liquid oxygen are assembled and put together. (5/20)

ESA Advances its Plan for Satellites Around the Moon (Source: ESA)
A bold proposal to create a commercially viable constellation of lunar satellites has taken a step closer. Two consortia of companies will be supported by ESA to devise detailed definitions of how to provide telecommunications and navigation services for missions to the Moon, under the agency’s Moonlight initiative. Such a lasting lunar link will enable sustainable space exploration.

ESA is going to the Moon together with its international partners including NASA. Dozens of international, institutional and commercial teams are sending missions to the Moon that envisage a permanent lunar presence. These will become regular trips to Earth’s natural satellite rather than one-off expeditions. Many of these initiatives come from the main space institutions in China, India, Japan and Russia, alongside other spacefaring nations, as well as private entities across the globe.

A reliable and dedicated lunar communications and navigation service would allow missions to land wherever they wanted. Radio astronomers could set up observatories on the far side of the Moon. Rovers could trundle over the lunar surface more speedily. It could even enable the teleoperation of rovers and other equipment from Earth. (5/20)

SpaceX Set to Launch Six Commercial Moon Landers After Latest Win (Source: Teslarati)
After securing yet another contract, SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are now scheduled to launch at least six commercial Moon landers over the next two and a half years. Firefly will be the sixth Moon-bound company to be won over by the unique combination of affordability and performance offered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The first of those missions – Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft – already flew in early 2020 as part of a unique rideshare with a commercial geostationary communications satellite. Unfortunately, the lander suffered an avionics failure just a few minutes before touchdown.

As part of NASA’s CLPS program, SpaceX has won launch contracts for five of the six landers announced, one of which went to ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. One of those six landers wound up canceling their contract due to corporate issues, leaving SpaceX with four of five CLPS launch contracts. The company is currently on track to launch two Intuitive Machines Nova-C landers on Falcon 9 rockets in Q1 and Q4 2022, Masten Space System’s XL-1 lander in 2022, Firefly’s first Blue Ghost lander on a Falcon 9 rocket in 2023, and Astrobotics first large Griffin lander – carrying NASA’s VIPER Moon rover – on a Falcon Heavy rocket in Q4 2023.

Outside of NASA, Japanese startup ispace has selected SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets to launch its first two commercial Hakuto-R Moon landers, beginning as early as Q4 2022. All told, SpaceX has contracts to launch at least six Moon landers in 2022 and 2023. (5/20)

Aerion Supersonic Abruptly Shuts Down, Citing Challenges in Securing Capital (Source: Florida Today)
At an April 2020 news conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the fledgling Aerion Supersonic had chosen Florida's Space Coast as the site of its future global headquarters — where it would assemble the world's first privately built supersonic aircraft. The project was expected to bring at least 675 high-wage jobs to the area by 2026. On Friday the company, which had touted plans to build a $375 million jet-building facility at Melbourne International Airport, abruptly announced it was shutting down.

"The AS2 supersonic business jet program meets all market, technical, regulatory and sustainability requirements, and the market for a new supersonic segment of general aviation has been validated with $11.2 billion in sales backlog for the AS2," a company statement released Friday afternoon said. "However, in the current financial environment, it has proven hugely challenging to close on the scheduled and necessary large new capital requirements to finalize the transition of the AS2 into production," the statement said. (5/21)

NASA Awards $500K in First Phase of $5M Watts on the Moon Challenge (Source: NASA)
NASA has awarded $500,000 to seven winning teams in Phase 1 of the agency's Watts on the Moon Challenge. The technology design competition challenged U.S. innovators, from garage tinkerers to university researchers a­nd startup entrepreneurs, to imagine a next-generation energy infrastructure on the Moon. Sixty teams submitted original design concepts aimed at meeting future needs for robust and flexible technologies to power human and robotic outposts on the Moon.

After evaluation by a judging panel, NASA announced the winners, including: Astrobotic Technology: $100,000; Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab: $100,000; Skycorp: $100,000; Astrolight: $50,000; KC Space Pirates: $50,000; Moonlight: $50,000; and Team FuelPod: $50,000. (5/21)

Space Coast Job Growth Continues (Source: Florida Today)
Job data for April points to continued improvement in the Brevard County labor market, as the Space Coast climbs out of a pandemic-related downturn. Total nonagricultural employment in Brevard rose by 600 from March to April, reaching 230,400. The April figure is up 22,700 from employment in April 2020, the first full month of the pandemic-triggered workforce plunge. Brevard County's unemployment rate in April was 4.5%, unchanged from March and down from 13.2% in April 2020, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. (5/21)

Paragon Space Development Corp. Awarded Two New NASA Contracts (Source: Paragon)
Paragon Space Development Corp. has been awarded new work under NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. This new selection of awards under the SBIR Phase II round is worth a total of $105 million with awardees being presented up to $750,000 in funding for their technical solutions and platforms. Paragon's two awards, for a total of $1.5M under this program, are to further develop two specific technologies: ISRU Collector of Ice in a Cold Lunar Environment (ICICLE) and Mechanical-compression Aerobot for extended Range Venus ExpLoration (MARVEL). (5/21)

ABL Space Systems Joining Smallsat Launch Market with Growing Number of Contracts (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Another smallsat launch provider is looking to debut in 2021, entering a busy market of new commercial rockets. Among the many new companies proposing to provide dedicated launches for small satellites, ABL Space Systems has accumulated several launch contracts which position the company well for a first launch this year.

The team of just over 100 employees also consists of several aerospace veterans from prominent companies. CEO Harry O’Hanley led development of the grid fin system used to land Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy stages at SpaceX prior to co-founding ABL. Other prominent figures at ABL include Chief Engineer Matt Becker, an original member of the Virgin Orbit propulsion team, and Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) Director Josh Hathaway, formerly a GNC engineer at SpaceX.

The team is currently developing the RS1, a two stage rocket fueled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The launch vehicle would primarily use Rocket Propellant 1 (RP-1), the same grade of kerosene used by the Falcon, Atlas V, Electron, and Soyuz rockets. However, at the cost of a small decrease in performance, the E2 engines which power the RS1 can also be fueled by Jet-A, a more commonly available grade of kerosene used by jet aircraft. (5/21)

New Government Funding Helps UK Companies Lead the Way for Future Moon Missions (Source: Gov.UK)
In what will be the world’s first commercial servicing of its kind, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), Inmarsat and MDA UK are among those who won contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA), worth just over £2 million in total, to shape the infrastructure for future lunar exploration. NASA plans to return to the Moon by 2024 and, working with ESA and other partners, intends to put a Gateway with living quarters for astronauts in lunar orbit. Reliable navigation and telecommunication capabilities are essential for these missions, and others like it, to succeed.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: "People all over the world will be hugely excited by the upcoming missions to the Moon – and I’m proud that UK space companies are leading the way in making these a reality. Britain’s expertise in navigation and telecommunications is second to none and this first of its kind commercial service - spearheaded by some of the UK’s most innovative businesses – demonstrates our ambition for the UK to become a world-leading space nation."

Under ESA’s Moonlight program Guildford-based SSTL Lunar will lead a consortium, including Airbus in Portsmouth, Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall and Nottingham satellite navigation company GMV-NSL, to plan how they could provide data-relay services for communication and navigation around the Moon. The study will set out the infrastructure required for the consortiums to deliver a constellation of lunar communication and navigation satellites which would enable surface missions operating on the far side of the Moon, without a line of sight direct to the Earth. (5/20)

Irregularly Shaped Moon Dust Creates Complex Scattering Effects (Source: Physics World)
The Moon’s surface is covered with tiny rock grains that formed during eons of high velocity meteorite impacts. The shape of these grains affects how the lunar surface scatters light, and researchers in the US have now analysed these shapes in unprecedented detail. The results of their study – including the first computations of the optical scattering properties of nanosized Moon dust – should make it possible to create better models of the colour, brightness and polarization of particles on the Moon’s surface, and to understand how these quantities change as the Moon goes through its phases.

Researchers have been studying Moon dust ever since the first samples were brought back to Earth during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Initial reports found that the average size of particles in the lunar soil, or regolith, is around 50 μm, with only 14% of particles measuring less than 10 μm across. Newer measurements, however, indicate that submicron particles are also present, including many particles in the 100 nm to 1 μm range.

In either case, the dusty regolith is fundamentally different to soils found on Earth, says Jay Goguen, a senior researcher at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado and a co-author of the study. Lunar dust particles are also responsible for some unusual visual phenomena. When these particles become electrostatically levitated into the tenuous lunar exosphere, sunlight scatters off them, producing effects that the Apollo astronauts experienced as streamers, horizon glow, zodiacal light and crepuscular rays. (5/20)

Satellite Mega-Constellations Create Risks in LEO, in the atmosphere, and on Earth (Source: SpaceQ)
The rapid development of mega-constellations risks multiple tragedies of the commons, including tragedies to ground-based astronomy, Earth orbit, and Earth’s upper atmosphere. Moreover, the connections between the Earth and space environments are inadequately taken into account by the adoption of a consumer electronic model applied to space assets.

For example, we point out that satellite re-entries from the Starlink mega-constellation alone could deposit more aluminum into Earth’s upper atmosphere than what is done through meteoroids; they could thus become the dominant source of high-altitude alumina. Using simple models, we also show that untracked debris will lead to potentially dangerous on-orbit collisions on a regular basis due to the large number of satellites within mega-constellation orbital shells.

The total cross-section of satellites in these constellations also greatly increases the risks of impacts due to meteoroids. De facto orbit occupation by single actors, inadequate regulatory frameworks, and the possibility of free-riding exacerbate these risks. International cooperation is urgently needed, along with a regulatory system that takes into account the effects of tens of thousands of satellites. Click here. (5/20)