May 24, 2021

Astroscale UK to Develop Space Debris Removal Technology Innovations with OneWeb (Source: Astroscale)
Astroscale UK announces funding award from partners OneWeb, the global satellite communications network, to mature their technology and capability towards a commercial service offering by 2024. This latest £2.5 million award forms part of a larger beam-hopping satellite programme, totalling over £32 million, granted from the UK Space Agency, via the European Space Agency’s Sunrise Programme to partners including OneWeb, SatixFy, Celestia UK and Astroscale UK.

“This partnership with OneWeb demonstrates their commitment to space sustainability and is the next step towards maturing our technologies to develop a full-service debris removal offering by 2024. Astroscale’s ELSA-M servicer is specifically designed for the servicing of constellation satellites that are fitted with a compatible docking plate, including OneWeb’s Joey-Sat.”

Astroscale’s Sunrise-funded program, known as ELSA-M, will develop the technology to remove multiple retired satellites in a single mission. John Auburn adds, “This multi-client strategy will drive down service costs and incentivise large satellite constellation partners to accelerate the speed at which they remove space junk.” (5/24)

Alpha Data Launches new Space Development Kit (Source: Alpha Data)
Alpha Data, in collaboration with Xilinx and Texas Instruments, has launched a new Space Development Kit, the ADA-SDEV-KIT3, which will help users to rapidly test the hardware and software setups that look to incorporate the Xilinx Radiation Tolerant Kintex UltraScale XQRKU060 Space-Grade FPGA. Alpha Data’s new Space Development Kit, the ADA-SDEV-KIT3, is a development kit for the Xilinx Radiation Tolerant Kintex UltraScale XQRKU060 FPGA, the world's first 20nm space-grade FPGA. (5/24)

Space Force Wants Radars to Track GEO-Distance Objects (Source: Space News)
The Space Force will seek proposals for radars that can track objects as far away as geosynchronous orbit. One or more contractors will be selected to develop prototype concepts for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept, with up to three radar sites built in the coming years. The Space and Missile Systems Center's Space Enterprise Consortium plans to issue a request for prototype proposals by June 30. Current radar systems are limited primarily to tracking objects in low Earth orbit. (5/24)

Space Organizations Partner To Boost Cybersecurity (Source: Breaking Defense)
Two prominent aerospace industry groups are cooperating on cyber information sharing, awareness, education, and outreach to improve the security of space operations. The agreement between the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center comes at a time when recent cyber incidents in other industries have highlighted a deficit of info sharing. The apparent lack of info sharing has recently been raised numerous times by Congress and others, as well as addressed for defense contractors and federal entities in the recent cyber executive order.

This agreement is noteworthy because the space industry is proactively moving ahead on cyber info sharing instead of waiting to be compelled to act by the government through law or regulation. There is broad consensus across the cybersecurity industry, key federal agencies (e.g., CISA), and Congress on the need for and benefits of improved cyber info sharing, but such initiatives can stall on sticking points of how, precisely, to do so. (5/24)

Space Force Delays Falcon-Heavy Mission From July to October (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
The first Falcon Heavy national security space launch will be delayed several months. The Space Force said that the mission, called USSF-44, has been delayed from July to October to "accommodate payload readiness." That delay means a second Falcon Heavy launch for the Space Force, USSF-52, will slip from October to early 2022. The launches will be first Falcon Heavy missions for high-priority national security payloads, and the first for the Falcon Heavy since a launch of a Space Test Program mission in mid-2019. (5/24)

SpaceX Complains of Pending HLS Earmark to Blue Origin (Source: Washington Post)
Blue Origin and SpaceX have been sparring on Capitol Hill over NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) program. After the Senate Commerce Committee approved an amendment that would authorize more than $10 billion for HLS and require NASA to select two contractors for it, SpaceX distributed a memo to congressional staff opposing the provision, calling it a "non-competed earmark to Jeff Bezos," the founder of Blue Origin, and claiming it violated federal procurement laws. Blue Origin countered with its own memo, calling SpaceX's claims "lies" and asking, "What is Elon Musk afraid of...a little competition?" The full Senate is still debating the overall bill that includes the provision, which would also have to pass the House. (5/24)

Starfish Space Plans 'Otter' Spacecraft for Orbital Servicing and Debris Removal (Source: Space News)
A startup is proposing to develop space tugs to support companies operating megaconstellations. Starfish Space, a startup founded by former Blue Origin and NASA engineers, aims to launch an all-electric spacecraft called Otter in 2023 or 2024, promising services including extending the operational lives of satellites, moving them to different orbits and removing debris. The company plans to test software on a mission this summer, controlling two different thruster systems. Starfish is also working on a capture mechanism it is calling Nautilus, details of which it declined to disclose. (5/24)

Army Soldiers to Transfer to Space Force (Source: Breaking Defense)
The first Army soldiers will transfer to the Space Force in October. Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler, head of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said that transfer will begin Oct. 1, but take place gradually to meet a deadline of October 2022. That transfer will include the Space Operations Brigade, created in 2019 to handle satellite communications services. Karbler said the Army and Space Force are in discussions about how to handle issues such as seniority and benefits, and to ensure that there is no disruption in services provided by the brigade during the transition. (5/24)

ESA Astronaut Application Deadline Extended to June 18 (Source: ESA)
Prospective European astronauts will get more time to apply, thanks to Lithuania. The European Space Agency announced Friday that it's extending the deadline for people to apply to be in its new astronaut class from May 28 to June 18. The agency said the extension is intended to accommodate applicants from Lithuania, which formally became an associate member of ESA last week. (5/24)

Australian Orbital Spaceport Planned in Queensland (Source: Brisbane Times)
A site in north Queensland could host launches by an Australian company. Queensland government officials said they support the development of a launch site at Abbot Point for use by small launch vehicles. Gilmour Space, an Australian company developing a small launcher, said it's interested in launching from the site, saying it could provide access to a "valuable range" of orbital inclinations. Gilmour Space's first rocket could be ready for launch next year. (5/24)

UK Plans Launch Licensing (Source: UK Dept. for Transport)
The British government will soon start licensing commercial launches. New regulations announced Monday and going into force this summer will allow the commercial launch of rockets from British spaceports, creating what one official called a "supportive, attractive and safe environment for commercial spaceflight" in the country. The first orbital launches from British soil are scheduled for no earlier than next year. (5/24)

150 Meter Flight Next for Ingenuity (Source: Space.com)
NASA is preparing for another flight of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. That flight, scheduled for some time in the next week, will have the helicopter go to an altitude of 10 meters and travel 150 meters to the southwest. It will then collect images of sand ripples and rock outcrops before going 50 meters northeast and landing. The flight, which will be the first in more than two weeks for Ingenuity, will test its ability to serve as an aerial scout. (5/24)

Research May Help Illuminate Origins of Life on Earth (Source: Phys.org)
One of the fundamental themes in astrobiology is to seek to ascertain the origin and distribution of life in the cosmos. As part of this, the field also deals with how life may be transferred from one planetary system to another. Recent research may give insight into how we could detect traces of this intriguing process in the future.

Florida Tech assistant professor of astrobiology Manasvi Lingam, along with researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland and University of Rome in Italy, recently completed the paper, "Feasibility of Detecting Interstellar Panspermia in Astrophysical Environments," which has been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal.

The research analyzes the process of how planets are bombarded by rocks, and how life-carrying microbes that may be on those rocks spread from one planet to bring life to another one. Life on planets might have been initiated by panspermia, a millennia-old theory that microbes living amid space dust, comets and asteroids are transferred to the planet as these objects collide with its surface. (5/24)