June 9, 2021

Mississippi Coast Company Could Help Elon Musk Launch Ships to Mars (Source: Sun Herald)
Elon Musk is converting two oil rigs into floating launch pads for his SpaceX program, with the initial work on one of those rigs being done at ST Engineering Halter Marine & Offshore Inc. in Pascagoula, a sister company to VT Halter Marine. “Yes, SpaceX is here in Pascagoula,” said Jeffrey Gehrmann, ST Engineering’s vice president of operations. Gehrmann said the company is well along on a six-month project to remove the drilling equipment from the semi-submersible rig Phobus.

The rig was sitting in Galveston when ST Engineering got a call from SpaceX asking how much the company would charge to remove the drilling equipment. “Apparently, our number was better than our competitors and they brought it to us,” he said. He said the rig was towed in from Galveston. “This has the potential of being huge,” Gehrmann said. Phobus will be used as a launching and landing pad for Starship, a SpaceX vehicle that Musk plans to send to Mars, businessinsider.com reported. Phobus and a second oil rig, Deimos, are named after the moons that orbit Mars. (6/3)

Virgin Orbit Prepares for Late June Rideshare Launch (Source: Virgin Orbit)
Already, we’ve shipped LauncherOne up to Mojave Air and Space Port, where it is now comfortably mated to Cosmic Girl’s left wing. There, we’ve been hard at work running final integrated tests — the highlight of which being a hugely successful cryoload just last week. Currently, the stars are aligning for our launch window to open during the last week of June.

While part of the team has been laser-focused on preparing the rocket for flight in Mojave, other folks have been working to ensure our small passengers are also ready for their journey to space. We recently completed final integration for all of the satellites flying onboard LauncherOne during this mission — a total of 7 spacecraft from the Department of Defense Space Test Program, SatRevolution, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. (6/8)

New Spacecraft Will Use Lasers to Transmit Video, Data in Seconds (Source: UPI)
New space missions being launched this summer will attempt to revolutionize space communications by using laser beams to quickly transmit large amounts of data, including high-definition video from the moon. Two missions by the U.S. government will test such lasers, which use invisible, infrared light beams. NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration will explore the best ways to beam information to the Earth from orbit using lasers. And a separate demonstration for the Department of Defense, known as LINCS, will focus on beaming laser communications between two small satellites. (6/9)

Senate Bill Authorizes Second Lunar Lander Procurement (Source: Space News)
The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that includes a NASA authorization act with a controversial lunar lander provision. The Senate approved on a 68-32 vote the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act, formerly the Endless Frontier Act. The bill includes a NASA authorization act with a provision directing NASA to select at least two companies for the Human Landing System program, authorizing $10 billion for it over five years.

That provision attracted criticism from some who called it a "bailout" for Blue Origin, one of the losing HLS bidders. The final version of the bill includes some changes, like ensuring the existing HLS award to SpaceX would remain, and NASA said it supported that language. "I applaud the Senate passage of the bill and look forward to working with the House to see it passed into law," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. (6/9)

GAO Finds Technical Problems with BE-4 Engine Are Delaying Vulcan Rocket (Source: Space News)
A GAO report said that problems with the BE-4 engine are delaying ULA's Vulcan rocket. The report Tuesday reviewing military programs said that an engine "is experiencing technical challenges related to the igniter and booster capabilities required" and may not be ready to support Vulcan launches this year. The report didn't specifically name the BE-4, but delivery of the first flight-ready versions of the engine has been delayed to later this year.

The GAO report warned that those issues could prevent the Defense Department from ending its reliance on the Russian-made RD-180 engine by 2022 as required by law. The report also concluded that the Space Force will have difficulties meeting its target launch date in 2025 for the launch of the first GEO satellite of the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program of missile-warning satellites. (6/9)

Colorado Lawmakers Invite VP Harris to See Space Facilities (Source: Space News)
Colorado lawmakers have asked Vice President Kamala Harris to visit the state's space facilities. In a letter Wednesday, the bipartisan group of senators and representatives from the state asked Harris "to visit Colorado to experience firsthand the dynamism of our state's private and public space industry." Colorado's congressional delegation has been making a full-court press following the Air Force selection in January of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the future home of U.S. Space Command headquarters, which is currently at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. Harris will deal with space issues as chair of the National Space Council. (6/9)

Skylo Offers Satellite-Based IOT in India (Source: Space News)
A startup is providing internet-of-things services in India using Inmarsat satellites. Silicon Valley startup Skylo will use Inmarsat's L-band services as the global capacity backbone for its network, which is starting to provide connectivity to machines and sensors in India. Skylo argues that using existing satellites this way enables it to lower service costs with data plans that start at $1 a month. (6/9)

Techstars Accelerator Adds 10 Companies (Source: Space News)
Ten companies in the United States and Australia will join the 2021 class of a space business accelerator. Techstars Space Accelerator launched its 2021 class this week with 10 startups that will participate virtually. While some of the firms are squarely focused on the space sector, others are newcomers after discovering space applications for related technologies like quantum security, photonics, autonomy and communications. "Many companies don't initially realize they're space companies," the accelerator's managing director said. (6/9)
 
NASA Astrophysics Division to Get New Chief (Source: Space News)
The director of NASA's astrophysics division plans to step down after nearly a decade on the job. Paul Hertz announced Monday at a NASA town hall meeting during an astronomy conference that he intends to move into a new position at NASA, yet to be identified, around the end of the year. Hertz, who has lead NASA's astrophysics programs since early 2012, said a decade in that position is "long enough" for a single person. The timing of the move, he added, will give his successor the freedom to implement recommendations of the astrophysics decadal survey due out later this year. (6/9)

Sierra Space Explores Dream Chaser Landings at UK Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Sierra Space signed an agreement with a British spaceport that could lead to future landings of its Dream Chaser vehicle there. Sierra Space said the memorandum of understanding with Spaceport Cornwall came after initial studies concluded that it was feasible for its lifting body vehicle to land at the spaceport, also known as Cornwall Newquay Airport, after orbital missions. The agreement will lead to additional studies before making any formal decision to have the vehicle land there. All current Dream Chaser missions to the International Space Station, through NASA's commercial cargo program, will return to the Kennedy Space Center, although the company has explored alternative landing sites for other Dream Chaser missions. (6/9)

Ingenuity Chopper Makes Seventh Flight on Mars (Source: NASA JPL)
Ingenuity's seventh flight on Mars was a success. JPL said Tuesday that Ingenuity flew abut 106 meters south, landing safely at a new landing zone. The flight was the second since the tiny helicopter moved from its technology demonstration phase to an operations phase, supporting the Perseverance rover. (6/9)

Wealthiest Americans Including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos 'Paid No Income Tax' (Source: Sky News)
President Joe Biden is facing calls to introduce a wealth tax following a report alleging America's richest executives, including Elon Musk and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, have avoided paying income tax - some over several years. ProPublica, the not-for-profit investigative journalism organisation, said its findings showed the tax bills were especially low when compared with their soaring wealth and other assets.

It calculated the wealth of the 25 richest Americans collectively jumped by $401 billion from 2014 to 2018. They paid, ProPublica said, $13.6 billion in federal income taxes over those years - equal to just 3.4% of the increase in their overall fortunes. This is down to tax strategies which are perfectly legal. Tax avoidance measures can include reductions for charitable donations or by taking no wages - taxed at up to 37% - and benefiting instead mainly from investment income at a usual lower rate of 20%.

The report alleged that Amazon founder and departing CEO Jeff Bezos paid no income tax at all in 2007 and 2011. It was the same for Tesla and Space X founder Elon Musk in 2018. (6/8)

Dust: An Out-of-This World Problem (Source: Space Daily)
Dust is a nuisance on Earth. Thankfully, we can simply pull out a vacuum or grab a rag to rid ourselves of the concoction of dust mites, fibers, soil, pollen, and other tiny bits. Beyond Earth's atmosphere, dust is insidious. On the Moon, it's made of crushed rock and is damaging to everything from lunar landers to spacesuits and human lungs if inhaled. As NASA readies to return to the Moon with the Artemis program, a team at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is working to mitigate dust's dangers.

Dust mitigation has been an issue for NASA since Apollo. When astronauts were entering and exiting the lunar module, dust got everywhere - it clogged mechanisms, interfered with instruments, caused radiators to overheat and even tore up their spacesuits. (6/9)