September 12, 2021

Access to the Cape Canaveral Spaceport Tightened After 9/11 (Source: Florida Today)
The attacks of September 11 also impacted Brevard County’s most noted industry: space launches. Secure facilities like Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (then an Air Force station) went on high alert along with Patrick Air Force Base, which acts as the command hub for rocket launches and local military leadership.

State Road A1A, for example, was closed for months as officials realized the gravity of the situation and vulnerability of facilities – namely Air Force buildings a stone’s throw from the road – in what quickly appeared to feel like the beginning of wartime. The changes were long-lasting, too, especially in the realm of access to the spaceport. Media members with permanent access badges, for example, were previously allowed to bring friends and family members with them onto KSC property to watch space shuttle launches. After the attacks, the badges were revoked, re-evaluated, and issued again to a more selective group.

Since then, commercial space companies like SpaceX have moved operations into the confines of KSC and the Cape. And others like Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket factory are just outside KSC’s main gate, though the company does have a pad at Launch Complex 36 secured by private and Space Force personnel. (9/10)

False Alarm at NASA Headquarters in D.C. Prompts Evacuation of Kennedy Space Center Admin Building (Source: WFTV)
A false alarm at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. led to an evacuation at Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County Friday. KSC security issued an alert to evacuate an administration building at the center early Friday due to what was reported as a threat received over the phone. According to NASA security, the threat was the result of a false alarm indicating an active shooter just after 11 a.m. at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. NASA security says a concerned citizen mistakenly reported the active shooter incident to KSC security, which prompted the local response. (9/10)

NASA Helps Students Launch Into New School Year with Educational Resources (Source: Space.com)
As students head back to school, NASA is ready with resources for students, teachers and families. From kindergarteners to college students and beyond, NASA has resources and opportunities available that are designed to inform and excite students, and to involve them in the space agency's many upcoming initiatives. (9/10)

Inspiration4 Launch Slips to Wednesday (Source: Space.com)
Inspiration4, SpaceX's first all-civilian mission, will launch at least a day late. The three-day mission will now launch from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida no earlier than 8 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Sep. 15 due to a combination of weather conditions and technical requirements, Inspiration4 said. Inspiration4 is a private mission to Earth orbit purchased by Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of Shift4 Payments. He'll be joined on the flight by Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski. (9/10)

Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Push Includes 62,400 NASA Workers (Source: WMFE)
Federal workers and contractors will soon be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 under a new plan announced this week by President Joe Biden, which includes more than 62,000 NASA employees and contractors. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said his agency will implement the rule “as soon as possible.” Nelson said more than 20 members of the agency have so far died due to COVID-19. “That’s more than 20 colleagues who gave their best to NASA,” he said. (9/10)

Defense Industry Reacts to Biden Vaccine Mandate (Source: Defense News)
The mandate could have sweeping implications for the defense industry, which includes most of the largest government contractors. One trade group, the National Defense Industrial Association, immediately hailed the Biden administration’s move. “The best scenario for the defense industrial base is to beat Covid and be fully functioning and flourishing. These orders will help us all get there,” NDIA said in a statement, adding that the organization has encouraged anyone working in defense to get vaccinated and follow mask mandates and protocols.

“NDIA has supported individual company and state guidance for workers, and now does the same for the federal mandate,” the organization added. The Aerospace Industries Association said it will work with the administration and federal agencies to understand what Biden’s executive order means for its members employees and operations. (9/9)

Lawmakers Want Vandenberg as Permanent Location for Space Force Training (Source: Santa Barbara Independent)
U.S. lawmakers are asking that Vandenberg Space Force Base be given a fair chance at being considered as the permanent location for the Space Training Readiness Command (STARCOM) program, saying the decision to select other sites for U.S. Space Command was “based on politics, not merit.”

In a letter to Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla and Congressmember Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara expressed support for Vandenberg — which was selected as a finalist location for U.S. Space Command in 2019, then left off the list in 2020 — to be considered as the final site for STARCOM, a Space Force training program that, according to its website, exists to “develop space warfighting doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures” and to “prepare combat-ready forces to fight and win” in space.

Editor's Note: Central Florida is also aiming to host STARCOM. The region has become a national center of excellence for DoD simulation and training, with a substantial collaborative presence by every other military branch. (9/10)

NASA's 'Quiet' X-59 Supersonic Plane is Coming Together in Chase for Faster Flight (Source: Space.com)
"We're trying to generate a much more mild, much lower amplitude shock wave and also create a longer rise time to that shock wave on the airplane so that the sound waves don't come together and create the loud boom as they do on existing supersonic planes," Richwine said. This noise reduction might in the future persuade regulators to allow supersonic planes to fly over inhabited areas. So far, because of the disruption caused by the supersonic boom, supersonic air travel is only permitted over the oceans.

But how can this noise reduction be achieved? Richwine explained it took a lot of careful computer modelling to engineer the entire shape of the plane in a way that minimizes the shock waves created as the plane bursts through the air. "The most obvious thing is that our plane has a longer nose than, for example, the Concorde," Richwine said. (9/1)

Competition Challenges University Teams to Design and Build a Solution for Lunar Regolith Transport (Source: OTDMC)
Lunar regolith is an important feedstock for construction, mineral processing, and other ISRU activities. To help us learn how to work with this difficult material in the harsh lunar environment, Colorado School of Mines and Lockheed Martin invite university teams from around the world to compete in the Over the Dusty Moon Challenge. Click here. (9/10)

Rocket Lab Share Price Doubles Since Listing, Online Traders Pile In, but Seasoned Investors are Holding Back (Source: Stuff)
Rocket Lab​ shares have almost doubled in value since the company listed on Wall Street last month, gaining another 37 percent overnight to $20.72. A loss of $32.5 million for the six months to June 30, and delayed launches because of the Delta outbreak, has not stopped investors flocking to the stock. Rocket Lab​ listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in late August valued at $5.2 billion. The company’s shares defied expectations of high volatility and closed at $10.43 on its first day of trading. Two weeks on Rocket Lab’s share price has almost doubled to $20.72. (9/10)

Dish Pushes FCC to Open Satellite Airwaves for 5G Deployment (Source: Bloomberg)
Dish Network Corp. is urging the Federal Communications Commission to open some satellite airwaves to 5G services. Dish representatives met with FCC officials Sep. 8 to argue that it’s possible for broadband providers to share airwaves in the 12 GHz spectrum band without an auction, according to an agency filing.

The FCC in January began soliciting comments on whether it could add new terrestrial phone service allocations to the 12 GHz band without harming the incumbent licensees, and if doing so would promote or hurt the delivery of 5G services. In its Sep. 8 meetings, Dish officials made arguments included in an Aug. 29 agency filing in which it told the commission that sharing the band is “eminently possible” and does not require an auction. (9/10)

U.S. Judge Acquits Academic Accused of Deceiving NASA About his China Ties (Source: Science)
A federal judge yesterday acquitted a former University of Tennessee engineering professor who had been accused of lying to NASA and trying to hide his ties to a Chinese university. The U.S. government had prosecuted Anming Hu under its 3-year-old China Initiative, which asserts that China has been using academic scientists as unwitting conduits to acquire federally funded technology.

Hu was arrested in February 2020 and then fired from his tenured position as an associate professor. On 7 June his case was the first resulting from the China Initiative to go before a jury. But 1 week later, U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan declared a mistrial after the jury was deadlocked. Hu’s lawyer immediately sought to have the charges dropped. And although the Department of Justice asked the judge to retry the case, Varlan said yesterday the government had failed to prove its allegation that Hu had tried to defraud NASA and knowingly violated a 2011 law blocking the agency from funding research carried out by the Chinese government. (9/10)

DoD Looking for Commercially Available Nuclear Propulsion for Small Spacecraft (Source: Space News)
The Defense Innovation Unit last week issued a call for bids for small nuclear-powered engines for space missions beyond Earth orbit. DoD wants “lightweight, portable and long-duration power sources that can support propulsion and on-station power for sensing and communication on small- and medium-sized spacecraft,” says the solicitation. (9/11)

D-Orbit Signs €2,2 Million Space Debris Removal Contract with ESA (Source: SpaceWatch Global)
The UK branch of D-Orbit signed a € 2,197 million contract with ESA for phase 1 of the development and in-orbit validation of a “Deorbit Kit”. The agreement is part of ESA’s Space Safety Program. The decommissioning kit is a self-contained suite of equipment that can be used with space vehicles of any size. It enables spacecraft to perform a propulsive decommissioning maneuver when their mission is over. It can also be used in case of spacecraft failure, even if it has become unresponsive. The kit and the know-how developed will be used in the future for in-orbit installation on satellites already in space, D-Orbit said. (9/9)

As Space Commercialization Heats Up, Can Investors Ride the Rocket? (Source: TD Ameritrade)
The private sector’s push into commercialized space flight could lead to greater space spending across the board, according to Michael Fairbourn, education coach at TD Ameritrade. President Biden’s proposed 2022 NASA budget contains more science funding than ever, at $24.7 billion, including a 9% increase in the agency’s science division and a 5% increase in funding for deep-space exploration systems. NASA still targets 2024 for the first piloted moon landing since 1972, though it’s possible the timetable on that might be delayed.

Aside from companies developing ships and rockets for human flight, firms that might be thought of as “space adjacent” can profit through space-related technology that helps us on Earth. A key part of making commercialized space flight a reality is satellites. This is one of the largest subsectors in the space industry, and these companies specialize in the infrastructure and technology of near-space and low-Earth orbit, which is where Branson and Bezos spent time. Established U.S. satellite companies include EchoStar and Iridium Communications. (9/10)