June 16, 2021

New Zealand's Dawn Aerospace to Launch Space Planes From Colorado Spaceport (Source: Stuff)
Plans have been unveiled for a New Zealand-based aerospace company to launch its reusable space planes in the United States. Dawn Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding with Colorado Air and Space Port, which outlines future plans for launches. The port, which has two 2.4-kilometer runways, is one of 12 licensed commercial launch sites in the US.

Dawn's space plane takes off from a runway unlike high profile Rocket Lab which launches its rockets vertically. NASA space shuttles used to land on runways, but were taken into space aboard a rocket. Another key difference is that Dawn's space plane can fly without the need to shut down airspace or create exclusion zones, as can happen with other rocket launches.

However, some details of Dawn's new partnership remain unclear. Dawn Aerospace could not say when it expected to begin launches or exactly how much of its operation would be based there. The company said launching from Colorado would be complementary to its New Zealand operations. (6/16)

NASA and Boeing Progress Toward July Launch of Second Starliner Flight Test (Source: NASA)
NASA and Boeing are continuing preparations ahead of Starliner’s second uncrewed flight to prove the system can safely carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Teams inside the Starliner production factory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently began fueling the Starliner crew module and service module in preparation for launch of Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at 2:53 p.m. EDT on July 30. The fueling operations are expected to complete this week as teams load propellant inside the facility’s Hazardous Processing Area and perform final spacecraft checks. (6/16)

Luxembourg to Fund NATO Space Sustainability Project with Millions (Source: Luxembourg Times)
Luxembourg is set to pay €7 million into a NATO program to protect satellites against harmful debris and spot hostile activity in space, an area where countries are deploying more military assets all the time. "Space is becoming more crowded and competitive, satellites are vulnerable to interference. Some countries, including Russia and China, have developed and tested a wide range of counter-space technologies," NATO said on its website when it presented its strategy for space in 2019.

NATO added space as a fourth operational area to air, land and sea in 2019, also because of "an increasing amount of debris that can destroy current satellites, so it becomes essential to monitor to guarantee the overall security of military and civilian space assets," NATO says on its website. Cybersecurity is a fifth priority of the alliance. Luxembourg would contribute €6.7 million to the development of the project, initiated by NATO's Situation Center (SiTCEN), which was founded in 1968 as an information exchange. The amount would cover the costs for three years. (6/15)

SpaceX's Satellite Internet Shuts Down Because It's Too Hot in Arizona (Source: Vice)
Some Starlink users say they’re running into overheating issues during the beta of SpaceX’s new low-orbit satellite broadband service. Starlink is currently providing 10,000 beta participants speeds between 50Mbps and 150Mbps. Users pay $100 per month (plus a $500 hardware charge) for the next-gen broadband service, which Elon Musk claims will see a broader commercial launch before the end of 2021.

But according to user complaints on Reddit, the Starlink satellite dish user terminal, affectionately dubbed “Dishy McFlatface” by SpaceX, is experiencing temperature issues for some users. A user stated that his broadband connection shut down at noon in the Arizona Summer sun, only to kick back on again after being sprayed with a hose. “I did submit a ticket and they only said it will shut down at 122 [degrees],” the user wrote. “Sadly tomorrow will be 122, and Wednesday will be 123. Dishy is already out at 112 so [I’m] gonna be quiet at home while I work out a solution.” (6/15)

China, Russia Reveal Roadmap for International Moon Base (Source: Space News)
Russia and China unveiled a roadmap for a joint International Lunar Research Station to guide collaboration and development of the project. They say the ILRS has received the interest of a number of countries and organizations. The ILRS is planned to be developed concurrently but separate to the United States’ Artemis lunar exploration program. Wu Yanhua of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) introduced the science objectives, facilities and transportation, lunar surface infrastructure, development phases and cooperation frameworks for the venture.

The first phase is reconnaissance, involving gathering data and verifying high-precision soft-landings across 2021-25 with the Chinese Chang’e-4, -6 and -7 missions, Russia’s Luna 25, 26 and 27 and possible missions of partners. The second “construction” phase consists of two stages (2026-30, 2031-35). The first involves technology verifications, sample return, massive cargo delivery and the start of joint operations. Planned missions are Chang’e-8 and Luna 28 and potential international contributions. The second stage looks to complete on-orbit and surface infrastructure for energy, communications, in-situ resource utilization and other technologies.

Missions named ILRS-1 through 5 would focus respectively on energy and communications, research and exploration facilities, in-situ resource utilization, general technologies and astronomy capabilities. Russian super heavy-lift launch vehicles are listed to launch the missions. The final “utilization” phase beyond 2036 would see the start of crewed landings. The location of the ILRS is yet to be decided. Possible destinations noted in the presentation were Aristarchus crater and Marius Hills in the northwest of the lunar near side and Amundsen crater near the south pole. (6/16)

Chinese Astronaut Nie Haisheng Set for Record-Breaking Space Stay (Source: Xinhua)
Nie Haisheng is expected to soon create a record for the longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut as he is slated to take part in his third space mission. The commander of a three-man crew of the Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship, Nie, together with two teammates, will stay in orbit for three months, the longest in the country's manned space program. The mission, scheduled to launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 17, will make them the first crew to live and work in the country's space station core module Tianhe. (6/16)

Sierra Space and Rhodium Scientific Sign Agreement Exploring Viability of Science Operations LIFE Habitat (Source: SpaceRef)
Sierra Space signed an agreement with Rhodium Scientific to test the viability of science operations on Sierra Space's LIFE habitat for scientific payloads planned to fly to space on a future CRS-2 mission. Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane and LIFE habitat platforms paired with Rhodium Scientific's "science first" modality enables a scalable testing and production model required to advance the low Earth orbit (LEO) commercial economy.

Sierra Space recently announced plans for the first free-flying commercial space station in low-Earth orbit that includes multiple LIFE habitats and docking ports for Dream Chaser and other visiting vehicles and modules. The space station is modular, flexible and provides a large environment for living and working and open to industries like pharmaceuticals, space tourism and agriculture. (6/16)

A (Small) Pre-Emptive Strike Against the Doomsday Asteroid (Source: Air & Space)
Protecting life on Earth will require more than seeing what’s coming. It will mean eliminating the asteroid headed our way—or at least pushing it aside. This life-preserving mission is at the heart of DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, a NASA mission being launched in November. Almost a year later, when it arrives at its destination seven million miles away, the dishwasher-size DART spacecraft will fling itself into a small asteroid, which is itself orbiting a larger asteroid.

The spacecraft will be consigned to oblivion, and the small asteroidal moon will shift its orbit just enough to be detectable from Earth. Scientists hope to show that punching a distant asteroid is possible, in case we ever need to move one to avert disaster. Every space mission is full of unknowns, but this one has more than its share, from the exact size and nature of the target asteroid pair to the potential change in the smaller one’s orbit, to the size and type of the crater DART will leave behind. The spacecraft will not even see its target until an hour before it crashes into it. But what DART will beam home in its final seconds will be priceless. (6/16)

Goldman Sachs Foresees a 45% Rally in Maxar Stock (Source: CNBC)
Goldman Sachs began on Wednesday coverage of space stock Maxar Technologies with a buy rating, seeing a 45% climb for shares in the year ahead. “We think MAXR has a gem business in earth intelligence and a turnaround opportunity in Space Infrastructure,” Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak wrote in a note to investors, adding that the firm sees Maxar as a “great long-term opportunity in the space market.” Shares of the satellite imagery company rose 2% in premarket trading from its previous close of $35.97. The stock is down nearly 7% this year, but has smore than doubled over the past 12 months with the company in the midst of a multiyear turnaround. (6/16)

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell Explains Company's 'No A--hole' Policy, Leads to Less Hostile Workplace (Source: Business Insider)
SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said the company has a "no a--hole" policy. This stops staff shutting down conversations and allows people to propose big ideas, she said. In a speech to graduates, Shotwell said people should "listen harder" to solve hard problems. "These kinds of people - a--holes - interrupt others, they shut down or co-opt conversation, and they create a hostile environment where no one wants to contribute," Shotwell said. (6/15)

How NASA Uses the Experiences of Victorian Sailors to Prepare for Life on Mars (Source: GQ)
Space agencies in America and Europe have run a number of months-long earth-bound simulations to study the psychosocial effects of extended space travel. But these can only tell us so much. No matter how strict a simulation’s parameters are, participants know that if their lives are in danger, they can always be pulled from the study. In many respects, it can be more useful to study historical examples of far-flung exploration. Antarctica is about as good a stand-in for Mars as we can find on earth. It is the highest, coldest, windiest, driest place on the planet. It is inimical to human life and, beyond the coasts, virtually to life itself.

Beginning in the 1980s, a NASA consultant named Jack Stuster began looking to Antarctic missions as case studies for space travel, in preparation for both the establishment of the ISS and extraplanetary journeys. Stuster studied accounts of expeditions from the so-called heroic age of Antarctic exploration, from 1897 to the early 1920s. “The simulations are far less instructive than the actual experiences of explorers... I do believe that conditions are imposed with far greater force and fidelity in real-world conditions than they can be in simulations.” (6/16)

Musk-Bezos Spat Reflects Bad Space Policy (Source: Bloomberg)
Last week, the Senate passed a measure that would allot $10 billion over five years for NASA to develop two new lunar landers. Buried in a nearly $250 billion bill intended to boost innovation, the measure was equal to about 43% of the space agency’s total budget. Why the extravagance? On one level, it surely makes sense to build a backup lander if astronauts are going to return to the moon in 2024 as planned. But there may also have been a less reputable motive. In April, a group led by Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin lost out on a competitive bid to build the lander to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Bezos loudly protested. Now, rather than leaving the fight to the plutocrats, Congress might expand the pool of money — and potentially make both men winners.

That would be a mistake. The fact is, Congress screwed up the bidding process for this project the first time around, and its fix is likely to lead to delays and added costs, not to mention (understandable) complaints about a billionaire bailout. The incident neatly sums up what’s wrong with the way Congress funds and directs space policy. For decades, the biggest barrier between Americans and outer space hasn’t been technology, engineering or courage. It’s been money. One way to fix that problem is to boost its budget. The problem is that lawmakers tend to spend too much on things NASA doesn’t need, while shortchanging things it does. (6/16)

NASA Launches Mission Equity, Seeks Public Input to Broaden Access (Source: NASA)
NASA is launching Mission Equity, a comprehensive effort to assess expansion and modification of agency programs, procurements, grants, and policies, and examine what potential barriers and challenges exist for communities that are historically underrepresented and underserved. A request for information (RFI), entitled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities in NASA Programs, Contracts and Grants, seeks public feedback as the agency conducts a thorough review of its programs, practices, and policies.

NASA wants to assess: potential barriers that underserved and underrepresented communities and individuals may face in agency procurement, contract, and grant opportunities; whether new policies, regulations, or guidance may be necessary to advance equity and opportunities in agency actions and programs; and how agency resources and tools can assist in enhancing equity, including advancing environmental justice. (6/15)

District Attorney Warns SpaceX About Unauthorized Road Closures, Security Personnel (Source: Valley Central)
The Cameron County District Attorney has sent a letter to SpaceX warning that they may be violating the law by closing county roads and hiring security that may not be licensed to carry weapons and furthermore requests details on their road closure hours. In a letter sent to the senior director of SpaceX, Shyamal Patel, District Attorney Luis Saenz outlines concerns with some of the aerospace company’s operations.  

This is a response following the letter sent to the DA and Judge Eddie Trevino, by the non-profit organization Save RGV, which called for the cease of road closures due to violations of agreements from 2013 and 2014 by the Cameron County and General Land Office, and the FAA respectively. In the letter, Saenz writes that his staff went to the SpaceX site on June 9 to check on concerns brought up by the non-profit and found that a county road was being blocked off by private SpaceX security, who he questions whether had the authority to carry a handgun or not. 

Saenz asked for confirmation that all SpaceX security personnel are properly licensed, or in the process of being so if they carry arms. He advises law enforcement not to work with SpaceX until things have been clarified. Failure to clarify could result in SpaceX being liable for crimes in the State of Texas, such as obstructing a highway or other passageway and impersonating a public servant. (6/15)

Jurors Deliberate Over Whether Professor Hid Ties to China (Source: ABC News)
Jurors have begun weighing the fate of a University of Tennessee professor charged with hiding his relationship with a Chinese university while receiving research grants from the federal government. Anming Hu, an associate professor in the department of mechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering at the university’s flagship Knoxville campus, was charged in Feb. 2020 with three counts of wire fraud and three counts of making false statements. Jurors deliberated for five hours without reaching a verdict Monday. They are supposed to return Wednesday to deliberate further.

The charges are part of a broader Justice Department crackdown against university researchers who conceal their ties to Chinese institutions, with a Harvard chemistry professor arrested in the past on similar charges. Federal officials have also asserted that Beijing is intent on stealing intellectual property from America’s colleges and universities, and have actively been warning schools to be on alert against espionage attempts. Prosecutors say Hu defrauded NASA by failing to disclose the fact that he was also a professor at the Beijing University of Technology in China. Under federal law, NASA cannot fund or give grant money to Chinese-owned companies or universities. (6/15)

GAO: FAA Continues to Update Space Regulations and Faces Challenges to Overseeing an Evolving Industry (Source: GAO)
The U.S. commercial space transportation industry continues to evolve. More launches are putting more satellites and other payloads into space, and companies are edging closer to offering space tourism. FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) is responsible for regulating and promoting this industry. This testimony gives an update on AST's progress in adapting to industry change.

For example, AST has streamlined rules for applicants seeking launch and reentry licenses but has not yet begun to revise other regulations. AST has also taken steps to more strategically plan for future workforce needs, as we recommended in 2019... As GAO previously reported, FAA continues to face the challenge of whether and when to regulate the safety of crew and spaceflight participants. While some companies have announced plans to take tourists to space within the next several years, FAA is prohibited by statute from regulating crew and passenger safety before 2023, except in response to events that caused or posed a risk of serious or fatal injury. (6/16)

Exolaunch Prepares Payloads for Upcoming Falcon-9 Rideshare Launch at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Exolaunch, the leading launch, deployment and in-space transportation services provider in the NewSpace sector, has just completed its launch campaign named ‘Fingerspitzengefühl’* by integrating 29 small satellites from the USA, Europe and South America aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rideshare mission scheduled for June 2021.

With a combined mass of close to one ton, Exolaunch doubles its mass capacity from SpaceX’s previous rideshare for small satellites, making ‘Fingerspitzengefühl’ its largest mission in terms of payload mass to date. This will also be one of the most diverse rideshare missions for the company bringing the total number of satellites launched by Exolaunch to 170. (6/15)

Space Nuclear Power is Nearing Critical Mass as the Final Frontier’s Next Frontier (Source: GeekWire)
The idea of putting nukes in space may sound like a national security nightmare, but the right kind of nukes are likely to be a must-have for long-term space exploration. At least that’s the way a panel of experts at the intersection of the space industry and the nuclear industry described the state of things this week during the American Nuclear Society’s virtual annual meeting.

“In order to do significant activity in space, you need power. And in order to get that power … it’s complicated,” said Paolo Venneri, CEO of a Seattle-based nuclear power venture called USNC-Tech. Even if you build a hydrogen fuel production plant on the moon, or a methane production plant on Mars, the power to run those plants has to come from somewhere. And studies suggest that solar power alone won’t be enough.

“The sun, it’s great, but only within a certain region of the solar system,” Venneri said. “And so if you want to have sustained high-power applications, you need a nuclear power system.” George Sowers, a space industry veteran who’s now an engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines, has run the numbers on the power requirements for a lunar operation that would mine polar ice to produce fuel as well as drinkable water and breathable air for future astronauts. He figures it would take a 2-megawatt nuclear power plant to convert the H2O into hydrogen and oxygen. (6/15)

How the Mission to Venus Could Unlock Earth’s Future (Source: Daily Beast)
Venus is a rocky planet about the same size as Earth, but despite these similarities, it is a brutal place. Although only a little closer to the Sun than Earth, a runaway greenhouse effect means that it’s extremely hot at the surface—about 870 F (465 C), roughly the temperature of a self-cleaning oven. The pressure at the surface is a crushing 90 times the pressure at sea level on Earth. And to top it off, there are sulfuric acid clouds covering the entire planet that corrode anything passing through them.

But perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Venus is that it may have once looked a lot like Earth. It may have been habitable for as long as 3 billion years before succumbing to some sort of climate catastrophe that triggered the runaway greenhouse. The goal of these two new missions to Venus is to try to determine if Venus really was Earth’s twin, why it changed and whether, in general, large rocky planets become habitable oases like Earth… or scorched wastelands like Venus. The VERITAS and DAVINCI+ missions will take a holistic view by exploring the geological and climatological history of Venus as a whole, in two very different but complementary ways.

The VERITAS orbiter's radar system to gather images and topographic data up to 10 times higher-resolution than any previous mission to Venus, looking for clues about Venus’ earlier climate that may be preserved in rock formations on the surface. DAVINCI+ will free-fall through the thick clouds for about an hour measuring a variety of gases including argon, krypton and xenon. Different climate histories for Venus would lead to different ratios of these noble gases in the atmosphere—and so by analyzing these ratios, scientists will be able to work out how much water the planet formed with. (6/16)

LeoLabs to Expand Radar Network to Europe (Source: Space News)
LeoLabs plans to expand its global network of space-tracking radars to the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region about 1,500 kilometers off Portugal’s Atlantic coast. The new S-band phased-array radar, which is scheduled to come online in early 2022, will improve the “timeliness and accuracy” of LeoLabs’ global coverage because the company does not operate radars at similar longitudes, said Dan Ceperley, LeoLabs CEO and co-founder. (6/16)

Phase Four Offers Modular Satellite Thrusters (Source: Space News)
Phase Four unveiled two new electric thrusters and a subscription program Wednesday. The company says its Maxwell Block 2 thruster features a modular design to make it easier to add larger propellant tanks or other changes. A Block 3 version, to be available later next year, will offer improved efficiency and thrust because of a new power processing unit. Phase Four, which raised a funding round last week, also announced a program where customers can sign up to lock in lower prices and guaranteed delivery schedules, a program that also helps Phase Four manage its production needs and supply chain. (6/16)

Brazil Signs Artemis Accords (Source: Space News)
Brazil is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords. Brazil's science and technology minister signed the accords in a ceremony Tuesday, six months after announcing the country's intent to do so. Brazil is the 12th country to sign the accords, which outline best practices for safe and sustainable space exploration, and is the third country to do so in the last month. (6/16)

UAE Considers Sending Another Astronaut to ISS (Source: The National)
The United Arab Emirates is in discussions to send a second astronaut to the ISS. Salem Al Marri, head of the UAE's astronaut program, said the government was in talks about a second astronaut flight, but didn't give a schedule for the mission or how that person would fly to the station. The UAE's first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, spent eight days on the station in 2019, flying on a Soyuz mission. [The National (UAE)]

Artemis 1 SLS Taking Shape at KSC (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The first Space Launch System rocket is taking shape at the Kennedy Space Center. Crews have spent the last several days mating the SLS core stage with its two solid rocket boosters at KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building. The rocket's upper stage and an Orion mass simulator will later be installed on top of the core stage for testing, after which the mass simulator will be replaced with the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission. That mission remains formally scheduled for launch no earlier than November. (6/16)

USSR Cosmonaut Dies at 93 (Source: TASS)
Soviet-era cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov has died at the age of 93. Shatalov joined the Soviet cosmonaut corps in the mid-1960s and first flew in space on the Soyuz 4 mission in 1969, docking with the Soyuz 5 spacecraft. He then flew on Soyuz 8 later in 1969 and Soyuz 10 in 1971, accumulating nearly 10 days of time in space on those three missions. He later served as head of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. (6/16)

Hungary's 4iG Buying Majority Stake in Israel's Spacecom (Source: Space News)
A Hungarian company is buying a majority stake in Israeli satellite operator Spacecom. Hungarian IT and communications company 4iG plans to buy 51% of Spacecom for $65 million to jump-start its international space ambitions. 4iG told the Budapest Stock Exchange in October that it is forming a joint venture called CarpathiaSat to launch Hungary’s first communications satellite in 2024. The deal, which requires Israeli government approval, is expected to close in the fall. [SpaceNews]

Minotaur Launch from Virginia was Northrop Grumman's Second Small DoD Mission in a Week (Sources: Space News, SPACErePORT)
After launching a Pegasus mission for the Space Force from California on June 13, Northrop Grumman launched a Minotaur 1 rocket with three payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office Tuesday from Virginia's spaceport. The Minotaur 1 carried NROL-111. NRO did not disclose any details of the payloads. (6/15)

Nelson Requests HLS Funding (Source: Space News)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson asked Senate appropriators Tuesday for more funding for its Human Landing System (HLS) program. Nelson, testifying before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, defended NASA's decision to select a single HLS company, SpaceX, because of constrained budgets. Nelson revealed that Dynetics, which made the highest bid of the three companies, proposed $8.5-9 billion for its lander, up to three times the price of SpaceX's winning bid. Nelson told senators that, with additional funding, NASA would be able to add a second company, suggesting one way to do so would be through the jobs bill, but Senate appropriators noted that the jobs bill will not be crafted by them. (6/16)

Commerce Dept. Prepares to Take On Space Tracking (Source: Aviation Week)
The US Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce is preparing to launch a space traffic management pilot program, following through on responsibilities given to the department under the Trump administration. "We'd like to see the space traffic management pilot program get up and running. We'd like to see how the additional $5.9 million is being utilized. Is that being utilized for industry partnerships as the [appropriations] bill described?" said Mike French of the Aerospace Industries Association. (6/15)

Space Tourism: Up There & Down Here (Source: WMFE)
Blue Origin isn’t the only player, either. Virgin Galactic and SpaceX both have plans for space tourists. So what’s the future of this burgeoning market? We’ll speak with Laura Forczyk, space policy analyst and founder of consulting firm Astralytical, about the future of space tourism up there. Then, if you can’t afford to go to space, or just want to stay firmly planted on the ground, there’s still plenty to see. We’ll talk with Julia Bergeron, the co-founder of Space Coast Launch Ambassadors about what the Space Coast has to offer for explorers that want to stay here on Earth. Click here. (6/15)

Aliens Wouldn't Need Warp Drives to Take Over an Entire Galaxy, Simulation Suggests (Source: Gizmodo)
A new computer simulation shows that a technologically advanced civilization, even when using slow ships, can still colonize an entire galaxy in a modest amount of time. The finding presents a possible model for interstellar migration and a sharpened sense of where we might find alien intelligence. New research shows that even the most conservative estimates of civilizational expansion can still result in a galactic empire.

Things start off slow in the simulation, but the civilization’s rate of spread really picks up once the power of exponential growth kicks in. But that’s only part of the story; the expansion rate is heavily influenced by the increased density of stars near the galactic center and a patient policy, in which the settlers wait for the stars to come to them, a result of the galaxy spinning on its axis.

The whole process, in which the entire inner galaxy is settled, takes one billion years. That sounds like a long time, but it’s only somewhere between 7% and 9% the total age of the Milky Way galaxy. That a civilization might want to embark on such an ambitious enterprise might seem implausible, but it’s important to remember Steven J. Dick’s Intelligence Principle, which states that the “maintenance, improvement and perpetuation of knowledge and intelligence is the central driving force of cultural evolution, and that to the extent intelligence can be improved, it will be improved.” (6/15)

Government UFO Report is the Product of Years of Military Infighting Over Whether to Take Sightings Seriously (Source: CNN)
After years of Washington infighting, including bureaucratic battles within the Pentagon and pressure from certain members of Congress, the US government finally appears to be taking seriously what has for so long been considered a fringe issue. Even as sightings of unexplainable objects rose into the hundreds, Pentagon officials wrestled with how much time and resources to devote to investigating them.

Interviews with a half-dozen officials as well as documents depict a US military and intelligence community that's struggled over how to remove the issue from the world of science fiction and consider its actual national security implications. Even now, multiple sources told CNN, the government almost certainly wouldn't have moved to produce the report without public pressure from key lawmakers, as both Republicans and Democrats have taken an interest in the matter.

While former senior defense officials with knowledge of the most recent iteration of the department's investigations say the Pentagon took it seriously, some pilots and former officials tasked with investigating the matter say senior Pentagon leaders downplayed or ignored the threat. The report, which is due to Congress in late June, isn't likely to resolve the debate -- nor is it expected to provide the kind of juicy details UFO-ologists hoped for, like confirming that strange sightings by American Navy pilots were alien spacecraft. (6/16)