June 3, 2021

New NASA Missions Will Study Venus, a World Overlooked for Decades (Source: New York Times)
NASA is finally going back to Venus, for the first time in more than three decades. And a second time too. On Wednesday, Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, announced the agency’s latest choices for robotic planetary missions, both expected to head to Venus in coming years: DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.

Venus is in many ways a twin of Earth — it is comparable in size, mass and composition, and it is the planet whose orbit is the closest to Earth’s. But the history of the two planets diverged. While Earth is moderate in temperature and largely covered with water, Venus, with a dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, is a hellishly hot 900 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface. After numerous missions by the United States and the Soviet Union to explore it in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, attention shifted elsewhere. (6/2)

Axiom Signs with SpaceX for Three Additional Dragon Private Crew Flights to ISS (Source: Axiom)
Axiom Space revealed Wednesday that it has finalized a deal with SpaceX for three additional Dragon flights, on which Axiom would fly its proposed private crews on its next three fully commercial missions to the International Space Station. The landmark agreement between the industry leaders in human spaceflight as well as launch and orbital services, respectively, ensures the nascent commercial human spaceflight market’s growth will subsist.

Developed by SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, the Dragon spacecraft has already flown three successful human spaceflight missions to the ISS. Those flights – Demo-2, Crew-1, and Crew-2 – were NASA missions carrying government astronauts from the ISS partner agencies. In a validation of NASA’s strategy to support commercial development of human spaceflight capability in hopes of fostering a marketplace, Axiom’s planned missions would mark the first private crews to make the same trip. (6/2)

An Aggressive Budget for More Than Just Earth Science (Source: Space Review)
The Biden Administration had long made clear that climate change would be a priority, but what that meant for NASA’s Earth science programs was unclear. Jeff Foust reports on what we now know about new Earth science missions in NASA’s budget proposal and the implications for other parts of NASA’s science portfolio. Click here. (6/1)
 
Should India Join China and Russia’s Lunar Research Station? (Source: Space Review)
China and Russia are seeking potential partners for a lunar exploration effort that may one day include a crewed base at the south pole of the Moon. Ajey Lele examines if India should consider cooperating on that effort. Click here. (6/1)
 
The Revival of the Suborbital Market (Source: Space Review)
Blue Origin is currently auctioning the first seat on its New Shepard suborbital vehicle, while Virgin Galactic took a step closer to finally beginning commercial service with a test flight last month. Sam Dinkin analyzes the implications for space tourism. Click here. (6/1)

The James Webb Space Telescope Needs to Be Renamed (Source: Scientific American)
It is unfortunate that NASA's current plan is to launch this incredible instrument into space carrying the name of a man whose legacy at best is complicated and at worst reflects complicity in homophobic discrimination in the federal government. James Webb, who died in 1992, was a career civil servant whose time at the U.S. Department of State under President Harry S. Truman included advancing the development of psychological warfare as a cold war tool.

He later oversaw the Apollo program as NASA administrator. When he arrived at NASA in 1961, his leadership role meant he was in part responsible for implementing what was by then federal policy: the purging of LGBT individuals from the workforce. When he was at State, this policy was enforced by those who worked under him. As early as 1950, he was aware of this policy, which was a forerunner to the antigay witch hunt known today as the lavender scare. (6/1)

Chinese Spacewalks Planned (Source: Space Daily)
Astronauts on the upcoming Shenzhou XII mission will engage in spacewalks outside the Tianhe core module of China's Tiangong space station, a key figure in the nation's manned space endeavor said. Two of the three-member crew, whose names have yet to be disclosed, will exit from the core module to examine, maintain or repair equipment. (6/2)

Russian Spacewalk to Decommission of Pirs Ahead of Removal From ISS (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
Outside the International Space Station (ISS), Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov have completed a near 7 hour spacewalk to finalize external preparations for the removal to the Pirs docking compartment that has served the ISS for nearly 20 years. Delivered in 2001, Pirs will be removed from the ISS no earlier than 17 July 2021 to make room for the new Nauka science module on the Russian segment of the outpost. (6/2)

California Prepares for More West Coast Space Launches (Source: Space Daily)
The state of California and Vandenberg Space Force Base are planning and building new infrastructure to capture more of the growing commercial space launch business. Vandenberg has never been as busy as the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. But now SpaceX and several other launch companies plan to increase activity on the launch pads overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

New companies have joined the nation's two largest launchers, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, in leasing dedicated launch pads at Vandenberg. And there are dozens of former launch pads that could still be renovated, Mastalir said. Vandenberg has started an environmental assessment to prepare for possible new growth that would help streamline state permitting in the future, he said. The base also plans to add new high-speed, fiber communications in the relatively undeveloped southern half of the base.

Relativity and Firefly plan to hire dozens of people in the region soon, said Andrew Hackleman, chief operating officer at REACH Central Coast, a regional non-profit coalition that promotes higher-paying jobs near Vandenberg. "We're developing a master plan so we can seek state and federal funding for more infrastructure to expand the launch capability, like roads, propellant rocket fuel storage and power connections," Hackleman said. The group has studied how Space Florida, the state's development agency for space in Florida, organized new growth around Kennedy Space Center. (6/1)

Space Force To Develop Tech For New Types Of Launch (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Space Force plans to award contracts this year for early development of tech to underpin potential next-generation launch capabilities — for example, to put DoD payloads into cislunar orbit near the Moon or routinely launch reusable spacecraft to fix broken satellites. The Space Force’s 2022 budget request doesn’t include direct funds for a follow-on Phase 3 to the current National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. However, there is $221 million in R&D funding for NSSL “Next Generation Launch System Investment.”

$36.7 million is specifically budgeted to support commercial launch providers via public/private partnerships to work on capabilities to launch new types of military space missions to “increase U.S. space dominance through the end of the decade and beyond.” Examples, the justification document say, include, “orbital transfer, on-orbit servicing, digital engineering, and novel on-orbit propulsion technologies.”

The Space Force in addition will use the $90 million added by congressional appropriators to its 2021 NSSL budget for “future development work” to kick start development of such “enabling technologies,” Ann Stefanek, a spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force, said. (6/1)

Launcher Raises $11 Million, Ramps Up Hiring for 2024 Flight (Source: Ars Technica)
The California-based rocket startup Launcher has raised $11.7 million in a Series-A round of funding, well above its $7 million goal, as it seeks to accelerate development of its first orbital vehicle. Launcher founder Max Haot said the company remains on track to debut the small satellite "Launcher Light" rocket in 2024. However, to meet this goal, the company needs to grow significantly now.

This is a big change for Launcher, which has prided itself on being an exceptionally lean company with few employees and low overhead costs. During its first four years, during which it focused on development of a first-stage rocket engine, the company had just a handful of employees and expended about $1.5 million per year.

Now, however, Haot said the company will need to spend about $10 million a year if it is to reach orbit by 2024 with Launcher Light. The company currently has about 30 employees in the United States and at its research and development subsidiary in the Ukraine, and it plans to scale up to about 70 employees by the end of this year. (6/2)

Rocket Lab Continues to Study “Complex” Electron Failure (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab said June 2 that it is continuing to study the “complex failure” on its most recent Electron launch, even after receiving approval from the FAA to resume launches. The company said in a statement that while the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation authorized the company to resume launches under its existing license, the company is continuing to investigate the cause of the May 15 launch failure of an Electron rocket carrying two BlackSky imaging satellites.

Peter Beck, Rocket Lab chief executive, said in the statement that the accident was a “complex failure” requiring “an intricate and layered failure analysis.” The company, though, is making progress and expects to complete failure review in the coming weeks. That launch appeared to go well until moments after stage separation, approximately three minutes into the flight. The second stage engine ignited but, in onboard video shown during the company’s webcast, shut down seconds later. (6/2)

Australian Startup Develops Quantum Sensors for Space Applications (Source: Space News)
Australian startup Q-Ctrl is developing quantum sensors to send to Earth orbit, the moon and eventually Mars. “Our team members have built a variety of quantum sensors in the past with world-record performance,” Q-Ctrl CEO Michael Biercuk told SpaceNews. “Moving from lab instruments to space-qualified instruments is our next focus.”

Many nations are supporting NASA’s Artemis exploration mission directly or with associated endeavors. A consortium of Australian companies and academic institutions plans to send sensor-laden nanosatellites to the moon to search for water and other resources in 2023 as part of an initiative called Seven Sisters. Australian nanosatellite startup Fleet Space Technologies founded the Seven Sisters consortium. Q-Ctrl is working with Fleet Space Technologies to develop quantum sensors to mount on the nanosatellites. (3/3/21)

Unlocking Quantum Key Distribution for Space Asset Cybersecurity (Source: Aerospace Corp.)
or all the technological and innovative advantages that space assets enable for the growth of the global economy, improvement on quality of life and stability of national security, the systems themselves are surprisingly vulnerable. As more entrants to the space enterprise emerge, new threats and risks must be accounted for to ensure the infrastructure is agile and adaptable enough to respond to any potential challenges.

A key aspect in outpacing the threat is the need to strengthen the cybersecurity of space assets to ensure the integrity of communication. To stay ahead in the encryption arms race, The Aerospace Corp. is exploring ways these systems can leverage the laws of physics to remain provably secure. Using an emerging technique called quantum key distribution (QKD), satellite networks could potentially prevent the interception of sensitive data, such as for those used for orbital maneuvering or in military communications for the warfighter.

Aerospace is developing a proof of concept of QKD for space systems while also investigating its regulatory and market implications. A new report from Aerospace’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) titled Challenges and Opportunities in Space-Based Quantum Key Distribution details the benefits of this new paradigm, as well as the actions required for its mainstream adoption. (10/27/20)

Washington State Profviders May Get Left Behind on Moon Lander Program (Source: Seattle Times)
In April, NASA took one step closer to the moon, announcing the $2.9 billion Human Landing System contract that delivers American space boots back to the lunar surface in 2024. But the decision leaves some Washington space suppliers’ feet firmly on the ground. Blue Origin has been working directly with more than 20 companies in Washington state in support of its Human Landing System during the program’s “Base Period.”

Selection as an HLS provider represented approximately $100 million in near-term contract work with Washington companies, according to the company. Blue Origin’s national team HLS partners Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman were also anticipating millions in contract opportunities for their nationwide supply chains.

NASA’s original plan — which was the right approach — was to select multiple vendors on a commercial option to return to the moon. Multiple providers create redundancy in case of technical or schedule issues typical with bold space efforts — especially at a time when other nations are ramping up to land on and develop the moon. (6/2)

License Decisions Postponed, But Navy Signs Off on Spaceport (Source: Tribune & Georgian)
Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has again postponed key licensing decisions for Spaceport Camden, a memo issued last month by the U.S. Navy indicates the DoD has reviewed the revised spaceport launch site operator license and the environmental impact statement (EIS) for Spaceport Camden and is prepared to concur, subject to acceptance of some conditions. Five technical memos were issued to identify mitigation approaches under which the Navy would allow launch operations.

In the event of any launch schedule conflicts, the Navy's mission would take priority over activities planned at the proposed spaceport. Editor's Note: Spaceport Facts, a group opposed to the Georgia spaceport plan, points out that the county-led effort has been promoted as being free from interference from other federal government operations. (6/3)