August 16, 2021

Senators Seek Additional $15 Billion for NASA (Source: Space Policy Online)
Three senators are asking for more than $15 billion for NASA in a "human infrastructure" bill Congress is considering. The letter from Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) to Senate leadership asked them to include $10 billion for HLS to allow for a second lander, $5.4 billion to repair aging infrastructure at NASA centers and $258 million for other projects. The funding would be part of a $3.5 trillion package that Congress seeks to pass through a "budget reconciliation" process that allows approval by simple majorities. One of the recipients of the letter, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the Senate Budget Committee, previously opposed additional funding for HLS. (8/16)

Selfie Cubesat to Show Ads on Screen (Source: Express)
According to Samuel Reid, CEO and co-founder of Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC), the company will pay SpaceX to launch an advertisement satellite into low-Earth orbit (LEO). This cubesat will boast a large screen full of purchasable pixels on one side where advertisers will bid to have their logos and products displayed. Mr Reid told Insider: "There might be companies which want to depict their logo... or might end up being a bit more personal artistic. (8/10)

UK and Iceland Strengthen Ties for UK Launch (Source: Gov.UK)
Last month, we achieved another key milestone in our Spaceflight Program – the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK and Iceland. Similar to our existing MoU with the Faroese Government, this arrangement secures the Icelandic Government’s support for UK launch activities and allows for launches from the UK involving Icelandic airspace and waters, in a safe and responsible manner. (8/13)

National Hypersonic Ground Test Facility to be Built in Purdue Aerospace District (Source: Purdue)
A first-of-its-kind in the U.S. facility to test hypersonic technologies will be constructed in the Purdue Aerospace District adjacent to the Purdue University campus, already a hotbed for hypersonics research and aerospace technology developments. The Hypersonic Ground Test Center, or HGTC, announced Monday (Aug. 9) during a two-day Hypersonics Summit hosted by Purdue and the National Defense Industrial Association, will be a central shared utility that supports multiple test cells and laboratories. (8/9)

Blue Origin Sues NASA, Escalating its Fight for a Moon Lander Contract (Source: Verge)
Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin brought its fight against NASA’s Moon program to federal court on Monday, doubling down on accusations that the agency wrongly evaluated its lunar lander proposal. The complaint escalates a monthslong crusade by the company to win a chunk of lunar lander funds that was only given to SpaceX and comes weeks after Blue Origin’s first protest over the Moon program was squashed by a federal watchdog agency.

Now in court, Blue Origin’s challenge could add another pause to SpaceX’s contract and a new lengthy delay to NASA’s race to land astronauts on the Moon by 2024. Blue Origin’s complaint, filed with the US Court of Federal Claims, was shrouded behind a protective order. The company is broadly challenging NASA’s decision to pick SpaceX for the lunar lander award, and “more specifically ... challenges NASA’s unlawful and improper evaluation of proposals submitted under the HLS Option A BAA,” according to its request to file its complaint under seal.

Blue Origin filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) less than two weeks after SpaceX’s award was announced, arguing NASA should’ve canceled or changed the terms of the program when it learned it wouldn’t have had enough money to fund two separate contracts. It also alleged NASA unfairly negotiated the terms of SpaceX’s proposal before making the award, without giving the same opportunities to Blue Origin and Dynetics. The GAO rejected those arguments in late July and deemed NASA’s decision fair and lawful. (8/16)

Federal Trade Commission Chair Appears Skeptical of Proposed Lockheed-Aerojet Merger (Source: Space News)
The new head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressed skepticism about Lockheed Martin's proposed acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne. In a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) earlier this month, FTC Chair Lina Khan doubted that "behavioral remedies alone are sufficient" to avoid harm to the market caused by "vertical" mergers where a company acquires a supplier. Raytheon, headquartered in Massachusetts, has opposed the merger because it would make it dependent on a competitor, Lockheed, for motors needed for its missiles. The FTC and the Justice Department have the ability to block mergers on antitrust grounds. (8/16)

Space Force SMC Becomes Space Systems Command (Source: Space News)
The Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) formally became the Space Systems Command on Friday. The new command, based at SMC's headquarters in Los Angeles, will oversee the development of next-generation technologies, the procurement of satellites and launch services. Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, the new commander of Space Systems Command, said this would be more than a "nameplate change" and vowed to "be bold" as a new command. (8/16)

China's InterSpace Explore Hopes to Provide Cargo Services to Space Station (Source: Space News)
A Chinese startup wants to offer its own cargo delivery services to the new space station. Beijing-based InterSpace Explore signed a deal earlier this month with Galactic Energy for the launch of the Zengzhang-1 demonstration returnable satellite on a Ceres-1 solid rocket in 2022. InterSpace Explore is proposing to develop spacecraft to transport cargo to the station. The development is an apparent response to a January call for proposals issued by China’s human spaceflight agency, CMSA, soliciting low-cost cargo transportation solutions for the Chinese space station. (8/16)

GAO Provides More Details on NASA HLS Protest Decision (Source: Space News)
The GAO released a report last week offering more details about its rejection of protests of NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) award to SpaceX. The 76-page report described the GAO's decision to deny protests filed by Blue Origin and Dynetics, concluding that NASA was within its rights to make a single award and rejecting claims that NASA improperly evaluated the proposals. The GAO did conclude that NASA should require SpaceX to perform a flight readiness review for each of 16 launches associated with its lunar lander Starship, rather than just one or a few, but that this had no material impact on the evaluations. (8/16)

Astra Upgrades Small Launcher (Source: Space News)
Astra's next launch will feature a number of upgrades to its small launch vehicle. In an earnings call last week, Astra executives said the Rocket 3.3 vehicle it plans to launch Aug. 27 from Alaska features stretched propellant tanks in its first stage and reduced mass of its upper stage, among other changes. The launch, for the U.S. Space Force, will carry a "test payload" designed to measure launch loads and environments a satellite would experience. Astra, which became publicly traded at the beginning of July after a merger with a SPAC, reported a net loss of $31.3 million in its second quarter. (8/16)

Managing Constellations: A Flight Dynamics Perspective (Source: Space News)
In an era where technology is advancing at an extraordinary rate, satellite operations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) continue to experience rapid change like never before. In the first half of 2021, over 1,000 primarily LEO satellites have launched. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings and market research indicates that thousands of LEO satellites could be on orbit by 2030. This exponential growth is dominated by a few large constellations, with a handful of operators flying more than 1,000 satellite constellations. Click here. (8/16)

New Zealand's Zenno Astronautics Developing Magnetic Satellite Propulsion System (Source: Space Australia)
Zenno Astronautics are developing a fuel free satellite propulsion system that will use magnets powered by solar panels. The NZ-based company is hoping to develop this self-sustaining propulsion system for wider use across the space industry. Green propulsion systems for satellites is the current leading edge of space technology. With huge increases in satellite deployments, finding ways to keep satellites in space longer, for less money and with a smaller environmental impact is something many companies are researching. 

The start-up, which has been awarded a number of grants to help develop their technology, are hoping to create a propulsion system that requires no fuel of any kind. "[We] simply develop a magnetic field and use that magnetic field to push against another field. That could be the field of earth or field of something nearby, [such as a] satellite,” said Zenno CEO Max Arshavsky. (8/6)

Here's Why Government Officials Rejected Jeff Bezos' Claims of 'Unfair' Treatment (Source: Business Insider)
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed Bezos' complaint, which was filed alongside Dynetics and rejected the protest. In a public report, the GAO laid out why Elon Musk's company was chosen over Blue Origin. Here are a few key responses from the GAO takedown of Bezos' complaints against NASA. (8/15)

Industry Group Wants FCC to Streamline Launch Rules (Source: Law360)
Members of the commercial space industry including SpaceX and Blue Origin told the FCC that in considering how to carve out dedicated spectrum for commercial launches, it should also simplify other rules governing launch approvals. In a filing to the FCC the coalition said they want the FCC "to consider rules that treat a single vehicle using a single system the same at all stages of operation."

"Otherwise, rather than achieving the Commission's goals of streamlining the process, it risks making future operations even more cumbersome," the industry coalition wrote. (8/13)

SpaceFund’s Investment in Cosmic Shielding Corp. (Source: Space Fund)
Radiation is one of the big killers in space. Protecting people and equipment from it drives an array of expenses and limitations to all missions and projects. Cosmic Shielding Corp has taken on this challenge and offers what we believe is a game changing approach to removing this barrier to the Frontier. CSC’s software and hardware package is like blending a customized tornado advance warning service with a personal super efficient storm shelter building material.

Space radiation (e.g solar energetic particles, galactic cosmic rays) present significant risks to both valuable space hardware and human biological systems. The average radiation risk on Earth’s surface is approximately 10 mSv- this risk increases to 160+ mSv in low Earth orbit (LEO), 1,000+ mSv in geostationary orbit (GEO), and 2,000+ mSv in deep space which, when lacking proper prediction and/or protection, is damaging to equipment and deadly to life forms. (8/16)

'Dream Come True:’ SpaceX's Starbase in Texas is a Flashback to 1960s Florida (Source: Florida Today)
Brand new rocket facilities near a sleepy beachside city historically unfamiliar with all things space. Hundreds of workers rushing around production sites to meet the latest deadlines. The sounds of heavy machinery, chatter through hip-mounted radios, and trucks slowly navigating potholed roads reminiscent of the lunar surface.

And, on launch days, even the occasional explosion that scatters a test vehicle into countless pieces. To some, all this might sound familiar, like a flashback to Florida's Space Coast in the 1960s when thousands descended on cities like Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral to make the Apollo program a reality. But this isn't Florida. Welcome to Starbase, Texas. Click here. (8/16)

UCF Receives $500K to Support NASA’s Artemis Program (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
UCF is one of seven universities to receive a $500,000 grant to support NASA’s Artemis program. UCF was eligible for NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Space Technology Research Initiative (M-STAR) grant because it is a Hispanic Serving Institution. Faculty with expertise in engineering, physics, and medicine will collaborate to support tech capabilities in many areas, including robotics, materials for extreme environments and landing.

NASA already hosts many UCF graduates as the university leads the country in producing graduates for aerospace jobs, according to the press release. At the Kennedy Space Center, around 30% of workers have a degree from UCF. The group will work with Blue Origin, nanotechnology company imec and local industry, various NASA centers, and the Florida Space Grant Consortium as part of this grant. (8/16)

Starliner Sidelined (Source: Space Review)
NASA and Boeing announced last week that a test flight of the company’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle will be delayed, perhaps to next year, because of valve problems in the spacecraft’s propulsion system. Jeff Foust reports on this latest setback for a program that has already suffered significant delays. Click here. (8/16)
 
Space Exploration and Development is Essential to Fighting Climate Change (Source: Space Review)
The Biden Administration has made climate change a priority, an issue highlighted by the latest international assessment of the topic. Alex Gilbert argues that the National Space Council should take steps to leverage space capabilities to address the issue, from Earth science to space-based solar power. Click here. (8/16)
 
ISRO’s Cryogenic Conundrum (Source: Space Review)
An Indian GSLV launch failed last week when the engine in its cryogenic upper stage did not ignite. Ajey Lele examines the long-running problems India has suffered trying to develop a more powerful launch vehicle. Click here. (8/16)
 
The Little Satellite that Could (Source: Space Review)
In 1998, Vice President Al Gore proposed a satellite that would provide continuous images of the Earth. Dwayne Day, in the first of a two-part article, looks at the early history of a satellite then known as Triana. Click here. (8/16)
 
Is it Time to Create the Designation of Non-Governmental Astronaut? (Source: Space Review)
Determining if space tourists, like people who fly on New Shepard and SpaceShipTwo, are “astronauts” has legal implications. Michael Listner proposes that it may be time to create an explicit category of “non-governmental astronaut” in US law. Click here. (8/16)