June 24, 2021

Masten Mission to Lunar South Pole: Schedule Shift to 2023 (Source: Masten)
Masten Mission 1 includes delivery of science and technology instruments near the Haworth Crater at the lunar south pole, a site expected to offer insight into the presence of important volatiles on the Moon. In addition to commercial payloads, Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver and operate eight NASA-sponsored payloads to assess the composition of the lunar surface, evaluate radiation, and detect volatiles, such as water, methane, and carbon dioxide, under the agency’s Artemis program.

Given the importance of this mission to scientific research and future human exploration, Masten is taking all necessary steps to ensure its success. Accordingly, due to the cumulative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and industry-wide supply chain delays, Masten has adjusted the mission schedule from December 2022 to November 2023. This adjustment is the result of careful consideration of mission objectives, conditions on the lunar surface, and supplier timelines. (6/23)

U.S. DOT Renews Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (Source: FAA)
The U.S. Department of Transportation is renewing the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) through June 2023. COMSTAC members lend their expertise to provide advice and recommendations to the Department and the FAA on a host of topics. From safety and technology to operations and the international competitiveness of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry, members provide useful and relevant information. The committee is currently charged with proposing updates to FAA’s human spaceflight guidance materials and recommending a spaceport grant funding mechanism, among several other tasks. (6/24)

George English, Longtime Kennedy Space Center and NASA Executive, Dies at 92 (Source: Florida Today)
George English, who passed away last Wednesday at 92,  never had the opportunity to fly in space. But as director of the NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Executive Management Office under six center directors, he helped enable hundreds of other people to live and work in space.

English was a personnel supervisor for the Air Force at Warner Robbins Air Force Base in 1964 when he learned of an opening at NASA. Excited about the early space program, he was willing to take a cut in pay to become part of the excitement of flying in and exploring space even if it meant moving to Cocoa Beach, which was just starting to develop from a town with a two lane road to the bustling community and tourist destination it is today. (6/21)

Florida Company Offers Luxury Trip to Space for $125,000 Price Tag (Source: CBS News)
For a mere $125,000, you, too, can purchase a trip to ascend some 20 miles into Earth's upper atmosphere on board a luxury space balloon. Space Perspective, a human space flight company in Florida, on Wednesday began selling tickets for its inaugural voyage way high into the sky at $125,000 a pop. The trip is scheduled for late 2024 aboard the Spaceship Neptune, a hot air balloon-style craft lifted by hydrogen. Anyone interested in the trip must pay a $1,000 deposit.

The company said it plans to send eight passengers on a "leisurely" ascension into space from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a excursion in which they will reportedly travel up to 20 miles above the Earth's surface for a "profoundly life-changing" experience. "Throughout the six-hour journey, all guests will enjoy the best reclining seats in the house to soak in the 450-mile, 360-degree view, an open call on dress, champagne, and a bathroom," Space Perspective said. (6/23)

The Launch Landscape: Small Rockets (Source: SpaceDotBiz)
The miniaturization of electronics that has down-sized the computers in our pockets has also affected how big our satellites need to be in order to accomplish their missions. Similarly, decades ago rockets needed to be big because they were only carrying big things, such as large satellites, humans in capsules, planetary rovers, etc. Now, with these newer satellites in smaller packages, theres a market for rockets with smaller lifting capacities.

Small launch vehicles aren’t entirely novel. Some, like the Pegasus rocket developed by Orbital Sciences in the 1980’s, have been around for decades. What distinguishes many of the newer small launch vehicles of the past 10 years is that this new wave of small rocket providers is largely backed by venture capital investors. This has merged the worlds of space technology and silicon valley investing in an experiment which many are watching very closely to see how it pays off. Click here. (6/24)

Assessing New Launch Vehicles on the Market (Source: Space News)
Launch service providers and integrators exist at the intersection of two highly specialized fields: launch vehicle development and satellite development. These fields overlap, but generally contain different specialties, with both groups speaking fundamentally different languages. For example, launch vehicle providers work on short time scales, while satellite developers consider operations over years. Spacecraft need to be light, and just strong enough to handle launch loads, whereas launch vehicles (LVs) are trying to make it to space reliably under extremely harsh operating conditions and widely varying flight regimes.

At Spaceflight, we often define the role of launch service providers as the “technical translators” in the area between satellites and LVs, using their expertise and experience to improve mission assurance and spacecraft-launch vehicle interactions. This makes launch service providers uniquely qualified to assess the viability of the many new LVs actively working to enter the market. Click here. (6/24)

SpaceCom and Spaceport Summit Marge for Florida-Based Conference in 2022 (Source: NSCFL)
SpaceCom, the Global Commercial Space Conference and Exposition, announces today that it will be moving its home from Houston and placing itself at the epicenter of space innovation and exploration in Orlando. SpaceCom has entered a strategic partnership with the Spaceport Summit (formerly Space Congress) to unite both brands under one event and advance their common mission to promote the growth and development of the commercial space industry, space exploration, and spaceports throughout the world. In addition to the move to Orlando, SpaceCom will now take place during the first quarter of 2022. Click here. (6/23)

Scrutinizing the Russian-Iranian Satellite Deal (Source: Space Review)
A report earlier this month claimed that Russia was selling a high-resolution imaging satellite to Iran that could launch within months. Bart Hendrickx examines the evidence supporting such a deal. Click here. (6/22)
 
Burning Frost, the View From the Ground: Shooting Down a Spy Satellite in 2008 (Source: Space Review)
In 2008, the US shot down a malfunctioning spysat, a move the government said was intended to prevent a hazardous reentry but which others saw as a demonstration of an anti-satellite capability. Dwayne Day explores what one NASA official wrote about his role in the event. Click here. (6/22)
 
A Shifting Balance of Space Cooperation? (Source: Space Review)
Last week Russian and Chinese officials rolled out a roadmap for a proposed joint lunar base, after Russian officials previously suggested they might quit the International Space Station as soon as the middle of the decade. Jeff Foust reports on what’s changing in spaceflight cooperation among China, Russia, and the US, and what’s staying the same. Click here. (6/22)
 
Why Astrofeminism? (Source: Space Review)
The underrepresentation of women in the space industry is a widely known problem, but what are we missing as a result? Layla Martin introduces readers to a new school of thought, backed by extensive research, regarding the gender gap in the field. Click here. (6/22)

UCF Student Competes on Fox’s ‘Mental Samurai’ (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
A University of Central Florida student with astronaut aspirations competes tonight on Fox’s “Mental Samurai.” Aerospace engineering rising senior Jillian Gloria said the show is true to its word when it bills itself as “the first-ever obstacle course for the mind.” The competition tests the mental agility of contestants with questions as well as the physical limits, as they are strapped into a high-speed capsule that whips across the set and rotates 360 degrees. But Gloria was up for the adventure, viewing it as preparation for her future career as an astronaut. (6/24)

ULA Adjusts Upper Stage Program While RL10 Nozzle Anomaly Investigated (Source: Space News)
United Launch Alliance says it's delaying use of a new upper-stage engine on the Atlas 5 so it can investigate an issue seen on a launch in May. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said it may take months to investigate the "ringing" seen in the extended nozzle of the RL10 C-1-1 engine on the launch of the SBIRS GEO-5 satellite in May.

The engine performed well, he said, but the company wants to take the time to understand the ringing and determine if the nozzle needs to be stiffened. Bruno said it will likely be "several missions, probably next year" before ULA uses that version of the RL10 again. That does not affect launches using other versions of the RL10, including the July 30 launch of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner on an uncrewed test flight. (6/24)

Space Force Should Have Cislunar Operations (Source: Space News)
A report concludes that the Space Force needs to prepare for operations in cislunar space. The report, published Wednesday by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, stated that the Space Force's mission will need to expand to the space between the Earth and moon as commercial activity grows in that region. Operations in cislunar space pose "unique challenges," AFRL noted, and "it is vital we understand and solve those unique challenges so that we can provide space domain awareness and security." (6/24)

Space Force Takes MUOS From Navy (Source: Space News)
The Space Force will be taking over operations of Navy narrowband communications satellites later this year. The 11 satellites, a mix of Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), Ultra High Frequency Follow-On (UFO) and FLTSATCOM UHF satellites, will shift to the Space Force's Space Delta 8 beginning in October. The move will create a more integrated U.S. military satcom enterprise, a Space Force official said at a conference Wednesday. (6/24)

Astrocast Considers IPO (Source: Space News)
Swiss internet-of-things satellite company Astrocast is considering going public. The venture has hired European investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co. to explore selling a 30–40% stake on the Euronext Growth stock exchange. Astrocast, which has a network of seven satellites and started commercial operations in May, is set to add five more spacecraft with SpaceX’s Transporter 2 rideshare mission, whose launch was scheduled for Friday but is slipping to Monday. Proceeds will help grow Astrocast's constellation to 100 satellites by the end of 2024. (6/24)

Virgin Orbit's Next Launch Planned NET June 30 (Source: Virgin Orbit)
Virgin Orbit says its next LauncherOne mission is scheduled for launch no earlier than June 30. The company announced the launch date Wednesday, adding that the mission could also take place in the "early days of July." The mission will carry seven smallsats for the Department of Defense, Royal Netherlands Air Force and Polish company SatRevolution. (6/24)

Microsoft Joins ISAC Space Cybersecurity Group (Source: Space News)
Microsoft is joining a space industry cybersecurity group. The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) announced Wednesday that Microsoft is its newest member, joining an organization that shares information on various threats to space systems and the ground networks supporting them. Microsoft has been expanding its role in the space sector largely through partnerships, such as linking satellite networks into its Azure cloud computing system.

Microsoft sees increasing demand for cloud computing in space applications as the industry grows. In an interview, Tom Keane, corporate vice president for Microsoft Azure Global, said the company sees a "thriving ecosystem" in space that needs cloud computing services for analyzing Earth observation data and improved connectivity. Microsoft has partnered with dozens of companies in the industry and "we're going to announce a lot more," he said. (6/24)

Iceye Plans Japan Office (Source: Space News)
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) company Iceye will open a Japanese office. The Finnish company has hired Makoto Higashi, the former Japan Space Imaging Corp. CEO and president, as its general manager in Japan, and plans to have a 10-person office in Japan within a year. Higashi left Japan Space Imaging in 2019 when he reached the company's official retirement age, but said he "wanted to contribute to the advancement of the satellite data market in Japan" with Iceye. (6/24)

Benchmark Space Systems Offers Orbital Mobility Service (Source: Space News)
Benchmark Space Systems says it will offer "mobility as a service" for space companies. Benchmark says that it will charge customers based on the amount of propellant they use, which it argues reduces upfront propulsion costs for on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (OSAM) ventures with indefinite propulsion needs. The business model is designed to support the OSAM ecosystem as the market takes shape for extending the lives of satellites, repairing them and other emerging applications. (6/24)

22,000 Apply for ESA Astronaut Positions (Source: BBC)
More than 22,000 people submitted applications in ESA's new astronaut selection campaign. The agency said Wednesday it received 22,589 applications, two and a half times as many as in a 2008 campaign. ESA officials said they were "extremely thrilled" by the interest. The agency expects to pick four to six astronauts next year, but will also select up to 20 "reserve" astronauts who could be called upon for additional flight opportunities beyond the ones currently foreseen by ESA. (6/24)

Earth Visible to A Lot of Potential Aliens (Source: Nature)
Any aliens orbiting 2,000 stars would be able to detect the Earth as an exoplanet. A study published this week in the journal Nature used data from ESA's Gaia observatory to identify the stars where, from their perspective, the Earth would pass in front of the sun. Such transits have been used by astronomers to detect exoplanets similar in size to the Earth. The roughly 2,000 stars that could see the Earth come from a population of more than 330,000 stars within 100 parsecs. (6/24)