July 26, 2021

Space Amendments On Tap in Congress (Source: Space Policy Online)
The House is getting ready to debate most of the FY2022 appropriations bills this week. The first stop is the House Rules Committee that will decide which of the hundreds of proposed amendments will make it to the House floor for consideration. Among them are amendments that could affect where U.S. Space Command will be headquartered, what Department is responsible for civil space situational awareness, and how much NASA will spend on certain programs.

The House Appropriations Committee completed markups of all 12 appropriations bills last week. Now they must be voted on by the full House and all members, not just those on the committee, may propose amendments. The House Rules Committee is the arbiter of which actually make it to the floor of the House and how long each can be debated. Click here. (7/25)

How To Tackle The Space Sector’s Cyber Challenge (Source: Aviation Week)
It is difficult to protect terrestrial infrastructure from digital intrusion: just ask Kaseya and its customers, or the Colonial Pipeline Co. In space, some cyberdefense challenges are amplified, while others may become easier to tackle. Nonetheless, the stakes are high. The Space ISAC Watch Center is due to open in Colorado Springs next year. The center will monitor cyberthreats to spacecraft, associated infrastructure and the services they provide. (7/26)

Musk Reveals Starship Factory Upgrade Plans (Source: Teslarati)
CEO Elon Musk says that SpaceX is about to begin the construction of “a much larger high bay” adjacent to the existing structure, an 82m tall building used to complete assembly of Starship and Super Heavy boosters. According to Musk, the newest addition to SpaceX’s arsenal of Starship production facilities will be located “just north” of an existing high bay, which measures approximately 30m by 25m. Most importantly, Boca Chica’s high bay is tall enough for SpaceX to use a bridge crane to stack 50m Starships and ~70m Super Heavy boosters – far more efficient and protected than using wheeled or tracked cranes to assemble rockets out in the open.

Musk’s assertion that the new facility will be “much larger” can be interpreted a number of ways. There’s a distant possibility that SpaceX will build a true NASA-style Vehicle Assembly Building like the colossal VAB used to fully assembled Saturn V and the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center. For Starship, that would require a structure at least ~130m tall – more than 50% taller than the current ‘high bay’. (7/26)

Skittles Releasing Zero-G Pack After Candy Goes to Space (Source: Fox Business)
To celebrate the snack’s first trip out of the Earth’s atmosphere, Mars Wrigley is releasing a special edition Skittles pack. The candy will come in a special packaging to look similar to the food astronauts eat. Skittles is launching the Zero-G pack for a limited time. According to a press release, the aluminum package is full of blue and purple candies. While there are only two colors, the pack will have the following flavors: pineapple passionfruit, raspberry and berry punch. The packs will be available later this summer. (7/25)

FAA Delays ROD for Georgia Spaceport (Source: FAA)
The FAA had initially planned on issuing the Record of Decision (ROD) in July 2021. Due to ongoing consultation efforts, the FAA is announcing an update to the schedule. The FAA now plans to issue a ROD in September 2021. The Spaceport Camden Draft EIS was published for public review and comment on March 8, 2018. Two public hearings were held on April 11 and 12, 2018. The public comment period closed on June 14, 2018.

The FAA received over 15,500 comments, the large majority of which were form letters sent by three different organizations. All comments received during the comment period were considered in the preparation of the Final EIS. On January 15, 2020, the County submitted an amended application in which the scope of the project was constrained to small launch vehicles only. Analyses in the Final EIS focus only on small launch capability.

The Final EIS addresses the County's proposed launch site operations based on a conceptual launch vehicle. The FAA will perform additional NEPA analyses for any future launch vehicle operators seeking to operate from Spaceport Camden. This additional analysis would address the potential impacts of the launch of their specific vehicles. (7/27)

Space Tourism Could Affect Earth's Climate in Unforeseen Ways, Scientists Worry (Source: Space.com)
Scientists worry that growing numbers of rocket flights and the rise of space tourism could harm Earth's atmosphere and contribute to climate change. Recent high profile tourism flights marked the potential beginning of a long-awaited era that might see rockets fly through the so-far rather pristine upper layers of the atmosphere far more often than they do today. The vehicles operated by Virgin Galactic are powered by a hybrid engine that burns rubber and leaves behind a cloud of soot.

"Hybrid engines can use different types of fuels, but they always generate a lot of soot," said Filippo Maggi, associate professor of aerospace engineering at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, who researches rocket propulsion technologies and was part of a team that several years ago published an extensive analysis of hybrid rocket engine emissions. "These engines work like a candle, and their burning process creates conditions that are favorable for soot generation."  A single Virgin Galactic suborbital space tourism flight, lasting about an hour and a half, can generate as much pollution as a 10-hour trans-Atlantic flight. (7/26)

Florida Venture Forum Offers Space Florida Prize Money (Source: Florida Venture Forum)
The 2021 Florida Early Stage Capital Conference will be held October 7-8 at the Westshore Grand Hotel in Tampa, Florida. The conference will also feature the 11th annual Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition, where winners of university-based competitions present before active venture investors and
compete for prizes. Previous early stage presenting companies have had tremendous success, raising over $350M in equity capital. Startup
collegiate participants have raised over $320M in capital.

Space Florida will offer its “Accelerating Innovation” (AI) cash prizes at the conference. The AI Award offers cash prizes totaling $100,000 to eligible and accepted Florida companies and to out-of-state companies seeking to relocate or establish a presence in Florida. The prize allocation will be: $40,000 to the Grand Prize Winner, $30,000 to the 1st Runner up, $20,000 for 2nd Place and two startup cash prizes of $5,000 each. (7/13)

Russia's Pirs Module Undocks From ISS (Source: NASA)
A Russian module undocked from the International Space Station this morning to free up a port for a new module. The Progress MS-16 spacecraft pulled the Pirs airlock module away from the station at 6:55 a.m. Eastern. The two spacecraft will deorbit over the South Pacific later this morning. Pirs had been attached to the station since 2001, providing an airlock for Russian spacewalks as well as a Soyuz and Progress docking port. The undocking frees up the port on the Zvezda modue for the Nauka module, launched last week and still scheduled to dock with the station Thursday despite encountering problems after launch.(7/26)

Mars Helicopter Rises to 12 Meters (Source: Space News)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter set new records on its latest flight. The helicopter flew to an altitude of 12 meters, its highest to date, on the flight Saturday, its tenth since April. The helicopter flew a complex pattern over a region called "Raised Ridges," taking aerial imagery to support the Perseverance rover. The helicopter has now flown more than one mile (1.6 kilometers) on Mars. (7/26)

Federal agencies need to improve coordination of space and terrestrial applications of spectrum, a report concluded. A GAO report last week concluded that the FCC, NTIA, NOAA and NASA need to improve how they interact to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2019, when the FCC allocated 24 gigahertz spectrum for 5G applications despite public criticism from NOAA and NASA that those services would interfere with satellite-based water vapor observations critical for weather forecasting. Scientists remain concerned that 5G use of that spectrum could adversely impact forecasting, and some in Congress see it as evidence of a "bias" at the FCC in favor of terrestrial services. [SpaceNews]

Mini Radar Could Scan the Moon for Water and Habitable Tunnels (Source: Space Daily)
A miniature device that scans deep below ground is being developed to identify ice deposits and hollow lava tubes on the Moon for possible human settlement. The prototype device, known as MAPrad, is just one tenth the size of existing ground penetrating radar systems, yet can see almost twice as deeply below ground - more than 100 metres down - to identify minerals, ice deposits, or voids such as lava tubes.

Local start-up CD3D PTY Limited has now received a grant from the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars initiative to further develop the prototype with RMIT University, including testing it by mapping one of Earth's largest accessible systems of lava tubes. (7/24)

Success of Artemis Hinges on NASA’s Commitment to Competition (Source: Space News)
NASA’s decision to award nearly $3 billion to SpaceX in April to produce the HLS has resulted in a rising tide of political and expert opinion calling for NASA to issue a second contract. Not only have both overlooked parties – Dynetics and the National Team led by Blue Origin – protested the award, but the Senate has voted to require that NASA issue a second award in order to restore competition and reduce program risks. A House appropriations subcommittee has also advanced a bill that increased funding for the HLS program, but was silent as to any requirements in regards to spending.

Competition is the engine of entrepreneurialism. Without it, SpaceX and other companies will lack the impetus to produce a superior product at the best price. In mature industries, a competitive marketplace is maintained through the enforcement of antitrust laws. However, when NASA creates an industry from whole cloth, it is the responsibility of NASA to also create the conditions of a competitive marketplace: by awarding multiple contracts for the product and service. Our capitalist system, defined by healthy competition, is the greatest advantage that the US has as other countries, including China and Russia, jostle in space for geopolitical supremacy.

It is not too late to correct course. Both unsuccessful bidders still have viable bids.  Even smaller split awards would maintain the competition model. If the reduced size of the awards slows the timeline, then Congress will simply have to increase funding.  At the moment, it appears that Congress may intervene and force NASA’s hand (if the House follows the lead of the Senate). (7/26)

Need for Competition May Benefit Rocket Engine Maker (Source: Defense One)
Lockheed Martin might not be the only benefactor if the Federal Trade Commission allows the company to buy rocket maker Aerojet Rocketdyne. The acquisition will leave the U.S. without an independent rocket supplier at a time when Congress is pushing to eliminate Russian-made engines for U.S. rockets. Enter Ursa Major Technologies, a Colorado-based rocket startup that says it can 3D print and assemble small rockets in a matter of days, and is now working to scale its technology to build even larger ones.

Northrop Grumman’s 2018 acquisition of Orbital and Lockheed’s proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne would leave the United States without an independent rocket supplier. As this happens, Ursa Major has been proving its technology and assembling customers, including a large defense prime contractor. The company has fashioned itself as a “a pure play, vehicle agnostic, cutting edge technology company that is just focused on building the best possible engines across as many verticals as we can,” Pellicore said. (7/23)

Bezos Offers Billions in Incentives for NASA Lunar Lander Contract (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos says his company will cover more than $2 billion in costs if NASA will award it a second Human Landing System (HLS) contract. In a July 26 letter to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Bezos said the company would waive up to $2 billion in payments in the first years of a new award, as well as pay for a demonstration mission, should NASA give the company an HLS award like the one SpaceX received in April to develop and demonstrate a crewed lunar lander. (7/26)

Israel’s Helios Signs Agreement with iSpace to Produce Oxygen on the Moon (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The Israeli company Helios, which develops technology for extracting oxygen from the lunar soil, signed the first Israeli-Japanese agreement for technological cooperation on July 19. Helios, with the support of the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, will be integrated into the mission to the moon of the Japanese company ispace. As part of the mission, the Israeli company will conduct a demonstration of technology for extracting oxygen and metal from the lunar regolith. (7/26)

How the Clumsy Approach of a Billionaire Could've Gone Differently (Source: Inverse)
Did Bezos and Blue Origin miss an opportunity to better shape the narrative around their media event? And, if so, what could they have done? Revelations that Bezos might only pay a true tax rate of 0.98 percent — far less than the average American — and his moves to squash unionizing efforts at his company Amazon, certainly didn’t help the matter. The cowboy-hat-wearing CEO’s own comments thanking “every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer, because you guys paid for all of this," were similarly tone-deaf.

here is one tweak that Bezos could have made to improve the public’s perception of space travel and science, which undoubtedly took a severe beating because of his clumsy approach. It’s something that Elon Musk — who is, no doubt just as big a huckster as Bezos — does with ease, and claims an army of space-loving fans because of it: Musk merely often explains there’s a larger purpose at play than just a rich boomer going to space.

Perhaps Blue Origin won’t ultimately pay much of a price for such lapses in judgment. Research has shown that even negative word-of-mouth can increase public awareness of a brand and help sell goods. “Compared to [Elon Musk’s] SpaceX, Blue Origin was born with far less hype and publicity in the game of space travel,” Jessie Liu of Johns Hopkins said. “So even criticism about Jeff Bezos that gets people to talk about Blue Origin and create awareness is not necessarily a bad thing for the company.” (7/23)