September 5, 2021

Virgin Galactica Grounding Shows Need for International Space-Traffic Control (Source: Denver Post)
As more spacecraft travel to and from space through FAA-regulated airspace, it only increases the need for a formalized space-traffic control system was mentioned frequently at the recent 36th Space Symposium, along with updating the rules for responsible behavior in space. But it was clear that nationalism and the quest for military superiority in space could get in the way.

Space traffic management and rules are topics that have bubbled through the military, civilian and commercial space communities for years, but there’s a sense of urgency as we have entered what Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, called the “second golden age of space.”

Consider just a few statistics: The number of satellites in low-earth orbit rose from 2,100 in 2019 to 4,900 today; the cost of getting a payload into space has dropped from the Space Shuttle rate of $25,000 a pound to $1,250 a pound on a commercial rocket; more than 32,000 objects, including the International Space Station and small pieces of debris, are being tracked by the Space Force (an estimated 250,000 smaller pieces of debris untracked by the military are in low-Earth orbit), and the global space economy was estimated at $447 billion in 2020 — with few impacts from the pandemic. (9/4)

Responsive Launch Capability Will Deter Enemies, Boost National Security (Source: Defense News)
We lack the means to rapidly reconstitute our critical, space-based capabilities after an attack on them. Fortunately, the Pentagon has taken stock and is beginning to lean in. The U.S. Space Force, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Space Development Agency and others are developing and deploying a resilient space architecture, exploring concepts such as satellite protection, proliferation and redundancy, as well as more fully embracing the innovation of the commercial space sector.

That vibrant, innovative portion of our broader ecosystem is stepping up to the challenge. We are seeing the commercial emergence of highly capable Earth-observation and communication satellite systems in very small platforms. What’s crucially missing in the equation, however, is a capability that combines the aforementioned space-based systems with a responsive launch capacity.

The U.S. requires a responsive, resilient, disaggregated launch solution. A “resilient” satellite constellation is of little utility in a conflict if there’s no means to quickly replace it once it’s degraded. Workhorses such as the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will continue to shoulder most of the launch burden, from fixed locations as part of the national security launch manifest. (9/3)

Stucky Takes Issue with Virgin Galactic's Response to Flight Mishap (Source: Florida Today)
Virgin Galactic's statements in response to the report are being taken to task by their longtime pilot who was fired after the flight: Mark Stucky. In 2018, he flew the first SpaceShipTwo mission to surpass the 50-mile mark. “The most misleading statement today was Virgin Galactic’s,” Stucky said. “The facts are the pilots failed to trim to achieve the proper pitch rate, the winds were well within limits, they did nothing of substance to address the trajectory error, and entered Class A airspace without authorization.”

To properly correct the issue, Stucky said, the pilots could have declared an emergency during their descent. “Then you should declare an emergency so they can clear the airspace for you. The predicted reentry point was known for minutes prior. Just because you blindly merged onto a 6-lane highway and didn’t hit anybody before jumping the curb on the other side doesn’t mean it was safe,” the former Marine Corps pilot said.

In the same report, The New Yorker also revealed Stucky was fired from Virgin Galactic after the July 11 flight. Author Nicholas Schmidle, who also recently wrote a book about the company, said Stucky was pushed out after the publication of “Test Gods: Virgin Galactic and the Making of a Modern Astronaut.” The book included some of Stucky’s criticisms of the SpaceShipTwo program. (9/3)

Branson Sold $300m of Virgin Galactic Shares After Flight that Led to Grounding of Spaceship (Source: Sunday Times)
Sir Richard Branson offloaded Virgin Galactic shares worth nearly $300 million while internal investigations were under way into a safety incident aboard his VSS Unity spacecraft. The sale of 10.4 million shares last month, made through Virgin Investments, which Branson controls, took place three weeks before the FAA announcement this week that it has grounded the rocket ship pending the outcome of an investigation into a flight on July 11.

Virgin Group said last night that neither it nor Branson was aware of an FAA investigation at the time of the share sale, the net proceeds of which are intended for use to support other parts of its leisure, holiday and travel interests affected by the pandemic. (9/4)

Starlink Customers Who Paid a $100 Deposit 7 Months Ago are Frustrated at Customer Service (Source: Business Insider)
Starlink customers are frustrated with Elon Musk's internet company. After forking out $100 for the high-speed satellite broadband service, the customers say there's no way of contacting Starlink to find out when it will be available in their area and if the kit is on its way. Insider spoke to four people who paid a $100 refundable deposit up to seven months ago to secure Starlink's Better Than Nothing Beta, which has 1,639 working satellites in orbit.

They sent Insider email confirmations of their Starlink purchases, made between February and May. Starlink said in the confirmation email that they should expect the service to begin operating in their area in mid to late 2021. (9/5)

Russia, US to Continue Cooperation on RD-181 Rocket Engine (Source: TASS)
Russia’s Roscosmos space agency will continue cooperation with US counterparts on the RD-181 rocket engine, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin said. "As for the RD-181 engine, our relations with the American partner will continue," Rogozin wrote. The Roscosmos chief said that Russia would be pleased to cooperate on the RD-181 engine if the US "decides to buy more." "They have formed a solid stock of our RD-180 engines for launches of their rockets, including for Boeing’s crewed flight program," he noted. (9/4)

Roscosmos Plans Two More Launches from Kourou Spaceport Until End of 2021 (Source: TASS)
Russia’s Roscosmos space agency plans two more launches from the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, by the end of 2021,  Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin said. In January, Sergei Savelyev said that in 2021 Russia plans ten launches by Soyuz-2 and Soyuz-ST launch vehicles for foreign contractors. According to the official, a spacecraft of Galileo, Europe’s global navigation satellite system, is expected to be launched from the launch site in Kourou. (9/4)

Russia Developing Tram at Vostochny Spaceport (Source: TASS)
Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, together with partners, plans to invest more than $453 million to develop high-speed tram traffic at the Vostochny cosmodrome and in nearby settlements. According to the plan, tram traffic should connect the Vostochny cosmodrome with the Tsiolkovsky closed administrative territorial unit, the airport, which is being built there, the cities of Svobodny and Shimanovsk, as well as with the Amur gas refinery plant. The projected passenger traffic is 5 million people a year. (9/4)

SpaceX Launch Site Threatens Wildlife, Texas Environmental Groups Say (Source: Guardian)
David Newstead, director of the nonprofit Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries, felt sick as he saw the fireball explode on the launchpad. SpaceX’s site is surrounded by state and federally protected lands. The explosion littered parts of the delicate ecosystem of the Boca Chica tract of the Lower Rio Grande Valley national wildlife refuge – comprising tidal flats, beaches, grasslands and coastal dunes that host a huge range of wildlife – with rocket debris.

“I knew from the other explosions that the rocket would be scattered all over the refuge,” Newstead said. Cleanup took three months, he added. Environmentalists on the ground in south Texas say SpaceX’s testing site is having immediate impacts. The refuge is made up of parcels the US Fish and Wildlife Service has been buying or leasing since 1979 when the federal agency came up with its plan to preserve as much of the land tucked against the Gulf Coast and the mouth of the Rio Grande River as possible, creating a patchwork of federally managed refuge land.

As part of that, the agency has been managing Boca Chica state park, a 1,000-acre (404 hectare) site, since 2007. Boca Chica is a key piece of the Laguna Madre hypersaline lagoon system and home to a plethora of vulnerable species. The Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles nest on the shore of Boca Chica Beach each spring, while shorebirds such as plovers peck at the tidal flats to find food. The refuge is also home to endangered ocelots, the wild cats that once roamed across the south-west. (9/5)

Investors are Placing Big Bets on a Growing Space Economy. But Can They Reach Orbit? (Source: Washington Post)
Investors are fearful of missing out. That’s turned out to be great news for the space companies hoping to get a piece of the satellite-launch business. But it’s also caused analysts to warn that space is still a nascent and risky business, one rocket explosion away from disaster. Hundreds of millions of dollars are now flowing to an industry long viewed as too risky for serious investment.

New start-ups are blossoming in an explosion reminiscent of the early days of tech, when money poured into Silicon Valley start-ups at the beginning of the Internet age. Over the past decade, investors pumped $200 billion into 1,500 space companies around the world, according to an analysis done by Space Capital, a space investment firm. Investment in start-up space companies reached $7.6 billion last year, a 16 percent increase from 2019, according to Bryce Space and Technology, a consulting firm.

“This level of investment is consistent with the 6-year trend beginning in 2015 of unprecedented levels of venture capital driven investment flowing into the space industry,” the company said. That has helped drive a $447 billion global space economy that grew 4.4 percent last year, according to the Space Foundation, an advocacy group. Over the past 10 years, the space economy has grown 55 percent, according to the Foundation, which said the commercial space products and services market is valued at $219 billion. (9/5)

Suspected Debris From Firefly Rocket Explosion Fell Inland Along Central Coast (Source: KSBY)
Debris from a Firefly Alpha rocket that exploded over the Pacific Ocean Thursday evening may be found along parts of the Central Coast. Vandenberg Space Force Base says investigators have determined any debris from the rocket should be considered unsafe. They are asking anyone who sees debris or suspected debris to stay at least 50 feet away from it and report the findings to the Firefly Aerospace Inc. hotline. There were reports of debris falling in Orcutt Thursday night. Some at Orcutt Community Park and also at Lake Marie Estates. Recreational facilities that were closed during the launch, including base beaches, will remain closed for the time being. (9/5)

It’s Time to Send a Lander to Mercury (Source: Universe Today)
So much in the astronomy community revolves around the decadal survey.  Teams of dozens of scientists put hundreds of hours developing proposals that eventually try to impact the recommendations of the survey panel that influence billions of dollars in research funding over the following decade.  And right now is the prime time to get those proposals in.  One of the most ambitious is sponsored by a team led by researchers at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).  Their suggestion – it’s time to land on Mercury.

This isn’t the first time the idea has been aired, but new technologies make this incarnation feasible for the next decade.  The current proposal was first floated by APL scientists to NASA, which funded a mission concept study that produced an in-depth 82-page review of a mission outline that is available from NASA. (9/3)

SpaceX Developing Starship Heat Shield Tiles at Florida Facility Near Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Futurity)
Find out more about how SpaceX manufactures the most important parts of their thermal protection systems - heat shield tiles! Click here for a video about the production facility in Florida near the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. (9/3)

First Group of Space Force Recruiters Begin Training (Source: USAF)
The first group of future U.S. Space Force recruiters attended a five day training course Aug. 9-13 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. “Finding people who are interested in protecting space for future generations is what we need to build our Space Force,” said Maj. Gen. Edward Thomas. A small group of Air Force non-commissioned officers were personally chosen from their leadership at Vandenberg Space Force Base to become the first recruiters for the U.S. Space Force. (9/3)