July 21, 2021

You Don't Have to Be Rich to Cash in on the Space Race (Source: CNN)
Average folks may not be able to saunter into space like Jeff Bezos just yet. But the frenzy around exploring the final frontier doesn't have to be alien territory for the typical Earth-bound investor. Several publicly traded companies and exchange-traded funds have shot into orbit, capitalizing on a growing fascination with space. Click here. (7/20)

Bezos Says Demand for Space Tourism Flights is Already 'Very, Very High' (Source: The Hill)
Speaking during a presentation following his space travel company’s successful launch, the Blue Origin founder said that many people are ready to pay for tickets for a ride into space. “The demand is very, very high,” he said, per CNBC. Bezos added that Blue Origin is approaching $100 million in sales revenue. During the first flight of the company's New Shepard, the auction for a seat aboard went for $28 million.

While the New Shepard was crewed with only four commercial passengers, Bezos clarified that the goal of Blue Origin is “to fly human missions twice more this year.” However, he is unsure of what the exact number of crewed New Shepard launches will occur in 2022. Prior to more streamlined ticket sales and flights, the company intends to undergo more testing in Texas to research both cargo and passenger flights. (7/20)

Green Light for Rocket Lab Return to Flight (Source: Gisborne Herald)
Rocket Lab has concluded an extensive review into the cause of the anomaly that resulted in the loss of its Running Out Of Toes launch in May. With the root cause of the issue identified and corrective measures in place, Electron will be back on the pad for the next mission from Launch Complex 1 later this month, a company statement said. “The May 15 anomaly occurred after 17 successful orbital flights of the Electron launch vehicle, which has deployed more than 100 satellites to orbit since 2018. (7/21)

Tulsi Gabbard Torches Bezos, Blue Origin (Source: New York Post)
Former US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ripped Jeff Bezos ahead of his successful trip to space, telling him to “do the world a favor” and “stay up there.” Gabbard, a Democrat who represented Hawaii in the House before running for president in 2020, voiced her views ahead of the highly publicized launch in a pair of tweets Tuesday morning. “Bezos, please stay up there. Do the world a favor,” Gabbard wrote in the first post. (7/20)

NorthStar Wants to Play Traffic Cop in Space (Source: Globe and Mail)
A Montreal-based company that’s raised more than $80-million from some high profile investors thinks it has the solution for space congestion. “The more we use space, the more you can expect that debris will accumulate,” says Stewart Bain, the chief executive officer of space monitoring firm NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. “What you want to do is have a good idea, using technology, of where everything is, so you’re not operating blind.”

That’s where Skylark, NorthStar’s space-traffic-management constellation, comes in. Comprising 12 satellites outfitted with telescopes, Skylark will provide a much more comprehensive view compared with current ground-based monitoring systems. The company’s software algorithms, meanwhile, will be able to predict the trajectory of a piece of space debris, giving satellite operators more time to manoeuvre out of the way. (7/20)

New Wrinkle for Space Tourism: Deciding Who Counts as an Astronaut (Source: Axios)
Bezos and Branson are hoping to lure wealthy customers into space tourism, in part, with the promise of becoming astronauts — but the definition of who is considered an astronaut isn't clear-cut. NASA and the military's definitions have specific criteria and are reserved for their employees. In order to receive commercial astronaut wings, you have to be an employee of the company performing the launch, certified by the FAA and be a crewmember performing some kind of job during the mission.

It's possible that, by that definition, Branson will receive FAA commercial astronaut wings, while Bezos won't. Virgin Galactic classified Branson as a crew member, whose job was to evaluate the astronaut experience. The Blue Origin vehicle that will carried Bezos is autonomous — no one onboard needs to act as a pilot or flight crew. Oliver Daemen, the 18-year-old paying customer on the Blue Origin flight, definitely won't get official FAA wings, because he's paying for the trip. Editor's Note: Branson's role was as an 'evaluator' of the exprience. Bezos might claim the same, even though there were no pilots. (7/21)

Japan’s QZSS Constellation to Receive Replacement Satellite (Source: GPS World)
The successor to the first quasi-zenith satellite, dubbed Michibiki, is expected to launch this year. Michibiki was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in September 2010 and was transferred to the Cabinet Office in 2017. The replacement satellite is now undergoing prototype testing at the satellite manufacturer’s facility. (7/20)

Space Players Are Building Up Navies As They Take Rocketry To Sea (Source: Forbes)
Oceangoing ships have always been an important—if underestimated—part of America’s space program. In the early stages of space exploration, ships were used in virtually every stage of NASA’s launch and recovery process. In 1965 alone, America deployed 58 separate naval vessels for astronaut recovery missions (and some of those were dispatched multiple times), while operating a separate government-owned space fleet of 21 range ships, two experimental at-sea rocket-launchers and a specialized satellite communications ship.

In addition, an armada of forgotten barges and other vessels did the logistical busy-work of securing launch areas or schlepping rocket boosters along America’s inland waterways, moving boosters and rockets down the Mississippi basin and over to testing and launching facilities on the Gulf Coast. With SpaceX’s additions, along with Blue Origin’s future landing/recovery ship Jacklyn, America’s revitalized space navy merits more attention than it gets. It is a fascinating blend of two powerful industries, workforces and political influencing networks that, normally, fight each other for resources. Click here. (7/20)

Perseverance Rover Begins Hunt for Signs of Martian Life (Source: Space Daily)
NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has begun its search for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. Flexing its 7-foot (2-meter) mechanical arm, the rover is testing the sensitive detectors it carries, capturing their first science readings. Along with analyzing rocks using X-rays and ultraviolet light, the six-wheeled scientist will zoom in for closeups of tiny segments of rock surfaces that might show evidence of past microbial activity.

Called PIXL, or Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry, the rover's X-ray instrument delivered unexpectedly strong science results while it was still being tested, said Abigail Allwood, PIXL's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Located at the end of the arm, the lunchbox-size instrument fired its X-rays at a small calibration target - used to test instrument settings - aboard Perseverance and was able to determine the composition of Martian dust clinging to the target. (7/21)

Roscosmos Says US Greenlit Import of Russia's RD-181M Rocket Engines (Source: Sputnik)
The United States has approved the purchase of a new batch of the Russian-made RD-181M space rocket engines, said a spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscosmos. "The US government has approved the contract between NPO Energomash [Roscosmos subsidiary] and US Orbital Sciences LLC company. This means that there will be new supplies of engines and new launches of American rockets with Russian 'hearts'," Vladimir Ustimenko said.

The deal gives hope for the possible normalization of relations between the countries, where business and efficiency will play a more important role than momentary decisions, which are not related to cosmonautics, Ustimenko added. (7/21)

UK-Australia Funding Partnership for "Space Bridge" (Source: Space Daily)
The first collaborative activity within the UK-Australia Space Bridge framework is being launched today by Australia's SmartSat CRC, UK Science and Innovation Network, and the Satellite Applications Catapult with the support of Austrade and the Australian Space Agency. The Satellite Applications Catapult, based at the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire, and Australia's Smartsat CRC will fund research projects that align to the mutual benefits of both countries and create collaboration through the Space Bridge. (7/20)

Accion Systems Raises $42 Million (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Accion Systems, a leading manufacturer of the world’s most advanced ion electrospray in-space propulsion systems, today announced $42 million in Series C funding. The investment brings Accion Systems’ valuation to $83.5 million and Tracker Capital has acquired a majority stake in the company. The funding will accelerate the development of Accion’s next-generation propulsion system and scale up its manufacturing to meet the surging demand for in-space propulsion. (7/21)

Democrat Proposes Taxes on Commercial Space Flights for Nonscientific Purposes (Source: The Hill)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said he is planning to introduce legislation that would establish excise taxes on commercial space flights with human passengers that aren't focused on scientific research. Blumenauer is a senior member of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. He raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the growing space tourism industry, and said that wealthy people making space trips should pay taxes that are similar to the taxes people pay for airplane flights. (7/20)

NASA Seeks Industry Feedback for Artemis Moon Landing Services (Source: NASA)
NASA initiated collaboration with industry in the agency’s first formal step in establishing regular crewed transportation to the lunar surface as a part of Artemis. In a request for information (RFI), NASA is asking U.S. companies for feedback to inform the agency’s plan for purchasing human landing system services to ferry astronauts from Gateway in lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon.

Additionally, NASA is asking companies to answer questions about the potential for developing the capability for large, mission-critical cargo deliveries to the surface of the Moon during separate missions with the HLS. Through Artemis, NASA and its international and commercial partners will establish a cadence of trips to the Moon where they will conduct science investigations, technology demonstrations, and establish a long-term presence to prepare for humanity’s next giant leap – sending astronauts on a roundtrip to Mars. Responses to the RFI are due Aug. 4. (7/21)

Blue Origin Launches First Suborbital Crew (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin successfully performed the first crewed launch of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle Tuesday with founder Jeff Bezos and three others on board. New Shepard lifted off from the company's West Texas site at 9:12 a.m. Eastern, with the capsule reaching a peak altitude of about 107 kilometers before landing 10 minutes later. Bezos was joined on the flight by his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen. Blue Origin executives said before the launch they were ready to start flying people after 15 uncrewed test flights, and saw no need to fly company employees as test astronauts first.

The crew praised the experience of flying on New Shepard even as Bezos faced criticism for spending his wealth on space. Bezos said at a post-flight event that the experience "dramatically exceeded" his expectations, views shared by the other three. Blue Origin plans to perform two more crewed New Shepard flights this year carrying paying customers, and Bezos said the company has tallied nearly $100 million in private sales of seats on those and future missions. Others, though, criticized Bezos for spending money on space rather than terrestrial alternatives. One congressman announced he would introduce legislation to levy a tax on space tourism flights. (7/21)

Dragon Capsule Switches Ports on ISS (Source: NASA)
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft moved from one International Space Station docking port to another early Wednesday. The Crew-2 spacecraft, with four astronauts on board, undocked from the forward port on the Harmony module at 6:45 a.m. Eastern and, after moving to a distance of 60 meters from the station, maneuvered and redocked with the zenith port of the Harmony module 50 minutes later. The maneuver frees up the forward port for the upcoming CST-100 Starliner uncrewed test flight, scheduled for launch July 30. (7/21)

Global Rules and Incentives Needed to Make Space Sustainable (Source: Space News)
Space industry executives warned of a lack of globally accepted rules and incentives to make space a sustainable environment. At a webinar Tuesday, executives said efforts to craft norms of behavior are fragmented and not well-coordinated. They called for a more inclusive effort to bring all space organizations together to create "harmonized, if not standardized" rules of behavior. That also includes developing processes for removing debris that has accumulated in orbit. (7/21)

DoD Endorses Norms of Behavior in Space (Source: Breaking Defense)
The Defense Department has endorsed the creation of norms of behavior in space. In a formal memo earlier this month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin outlined five "Tenets of Responsible Behavior" for military space activities, from avoiding the creation of long-lived debris to operating with due regard to others. Space security experts saw the memo as a positive first step towards more detailed guidelines for space operations, but cautioned that opposing only the creation of "long-lived" debris could allow some kinds of ASAT tests to continue. (7/21)

Houston, Are We Going to Have a Problem with Space Nuclear Power? (Source: The Bulletin)
NASA and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have outlined the benefits of nuclear propulsion for space exploration and made important proposals to develop the technologies needed to send humans to Mars. As useful as this work is, space nuclear power isn’t just about propulsion. The dynamic commercial space and national security sectors can also benefit from nuclear capabilities and have an important role to play in developing dual-use technologies that have both military and civilian applications, though with some caveats to ensure human safety.

While the National Academies report published in February advocates for the use of nuclear power in propulsion, nuclear power for non-propulsion applications is becoming increasingly attractive as the commercial space sector seeks to expand its activities. It would be prudent to discuss and establish policy on the use of space nuclear power now, so that policy and safety concerns can be fully addressed during the development proposed by NASA and the National Academies.

Rather than be blindsided by onrushing events and technology developments in space—not to mention the actions of ambitious foreign space competitors that may well give scant regard to safety considerations—the US would do well to assess the space nuclear power landscape and the desirability and implications of potential space nuclear power applications. The US should lead the way in identifying the types of applications that should be encouraged, those where caution may be indicated, and perhaps some applications that should be discouraged because the risks outweigh potential benefits. (7/19)