August 5, 2021

High-Speed Aerospace Corridor Would Link Midland Spaceport and Spaceport America (Source: NewsWest9)
A high-speed aerospace corridor is something the Midland Development Corporation is looking at creating between here and Spaceport America in New Mexico. Basically, the corridor makes for a highway in the sky. The infrastructure would allow companies and the Department of Defense to run hypersonic experiments. The highway in the sky would incentivize dozens of space companies to start up or move right here to the Basin. 

But before the project launches, MDC has hired a company to study this region to see if something of this magnitude would be possible. Before that can happen MDC has contracted Kimley Horn to research how the corridor would do here. The study will wrap up by the end of this year. If it gives the green light, new companies could move here starting next year. 

“It’s just a feasibility study. It does not establish the corridor, it lets us know if this is possible," Harris said. In the meantime, MDC is planning a trip to Spaceport America in the next few weeks to advance the relationship between the two complimentary spaceports. (8/2)

Florida's Cecil Spaceport Gets New Director (Source: JAA)
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority has named Matthew Bocchino as Managing Director for Cecil Spaceport, the eighth licensed horizontal launch spaceport and the first commercial spaceport on the East Coast. Mr. Bocchino will direct the spaceport infrastructure, establish operational protocols, and manage the development of telemetry and range safety. Mr. Bocchino has worked for JAA for nearly 12 years, most recently serving as Senior Properties Administrator, Business Development. Mr. Bocchino also served as Development & Marketing Specialist for Cecil Spaceport. (8/4)

Opportunities Remain for Blue Origin's HLS Effort (Source: Inverse)
Blue Origin remained firm its argument that there are “fundamental issues” with NASA issuing a single award. NASA, meanwhile, issued this response: “The [GAO] decision enables NASA to award the contract that will ultimately result in the first crewed demonstration landing on the surface of the Moon under NASA’s Artemis plan. Importantly, the GAO’s decision will allow NASA and SpaceX to establish a timeline for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years.”

On the surface, the decision seems like a big setback for Blue Origin. The Jeff Bezos-backed firm is facing off against Elon Musk’s SpaceX in an increasing number of areas, but SpaceX’s proven track record leaves Blue Origin at a disadvantage. Musk’s firm will now provide the vehicle that lands humans on the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, a powerful symbolic victory. But just as the first Moon landing wasn’t the end of Soviet space exploration, SpaceX’s Moon landing doesn’t mark the end of Blue Origin’s efforts. The Artemis mission is a step toward a broader Moon economy. “Companies like Blue Origin may have lost out for now, but they should not expect the market to close up after the first lap,” said Dallas Kasaboski. (8/4)

'Clair de Lune' Becomes First NFT Song to Reach Orbit (Source: Fox Business)
The history of commercial activities in space has taken another "small step," after a non-fungible token (NFT) version of Claude Debussy's classic piano piece "Clair de Lune" was sent up to the International Space Station (ISS). The unique digital asset was beamed up to space last week by Houston, Texas-based aerospace company Nanoracks LLC and Artemis Music Entertainment, Inc., making it the first music NFT to reach orbit. (8/4)

Inmarsat Challenges Musk, Bezos Megaconstellation with 'First of its Kind' Project (Source: Express)
UK satellite firm Inmarsat has picked up the gauntlet and is setting its sights on trumping the European Union (EU) and the world's richest men with a proposed satellite constellation. Inmarsat has announced its plans for a groundbreaking network of communication satellites, dubbed ORCHESTRA. The "first of its kind" satellite constellation will combine the benefits of 5G networking with low-Earth orbit (LEO) and geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellites into one integrated system. Rajeev Suri, CEO of Inmarsat, believes the bold plans are the "future of connectivity" (8/4)

Marketers, You're Going to Space Next (Source: Forbes)
Brands have gone to space before, but a new age of space travel and tourism, propelled by interest from billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, could provide more opportunities to hitch a ride. “I think in the future, astronauts' outfits will begin to resemble that of F1 drivers, with logos stitched everywhere,” says Devaiah Bopanna, co-founder and chief content officer of media company All Things Small.

He foresees “really weird records being set” as brands try to score ‘firsts’. “First brand of chips to reach space, first brand of chips to be eaten in space, first brand of chips to be eaten in space while using a floating zero-gravity ketchup. You will see a bunch of brands trying to land some ideas based on painful puns around ‘Space’. Brace your marketing self for impact.” (8/4)

SpaceX’s Starlink App Gets Big Update to Help Find Clear Sky (Source: The Verge)
SpaceX’s Starlink mobile app got a refreshing upgrade this week that makes it easier to find clear patches of sky and monitor connection outages — and adds a new dark mode for its user interface. The app improvements came out yesterday as SpaceX reported 90,000 active users in its open “better than nothing” beta phase, which spans rural regions across 12 different countries so far.

The “completely updated and renovated” version, as SpaceX describes in its Apple’s App Store changelog, includes a new way to scan your surroundings for obstructions before installing a Starlink terminal. Like its previous method, the app directs users to scan their surroundings using their phone cameras, but the new version generates a tiny dome around your Starlink dish that overlays potential obstructions, marked by different colors. Reddit users seemed impressed. (8/3)

China Launches Tianhui Military Mapping Satellite (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
China successfully launched a Long March 2D rocket July 29 with a Tianhui military satellite on a mission to collect data for maps and land surveys. Chinese officials declared the launch a success, and independent orbital tracking data published by the U.S. military indicated the rocket deployed its satellite in a near-circular orbit about 300 miles above Earth at an inclination of 97.5 degrees. The Tianhui 1-04 payload is the sixth in China’s series of Tianhui mapping satellites, joining three similar first-generation spacecraft and two new-generation Tianhui satellites. (8/3)

Elon Musk Praises 'Amazing' Soviet Rocket Engine Designs (Source: Sputnik)
SpaceX's Elon Musk said there are some amazing rocket engine designs made by the Russians who have been doing stage combustion for a long time. "There's some amazing Russian rocket engine designs," Musk said. "They've been doing stage combustion for a long time." SpaceX's Raptor engine uses higher pressure on its full-flow stage combustion, which is a relatively minor increment relative to what the Russians have already done before, Musk said. (8/4)