October 12, 2021

NGA Looks to Corral Satellite Imagery, Other Data in Push for ‘Synthetic Persistence’ (Source: FNN)
The mapping agency for both the U.S. military and the intelligence community is increasingly turning to commercially available information as it looks to make data more accessible across its traditionally fragmented organization. The agency wants to increase its sources for satellite imagery and other data to “know where everything is all the time,” in the words of one official.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s new data strategy calls for managing data as a “strategic asset.” Vice Adm. Robert Sharp, director of NGA, called the growth in available geospatial intelligence from government and commercial sources “staggering,” saying it represents one of the agency’s major challenges. (10/11)

Propellant Leak Caused Astra's August Failure, Next Attempt Soon at Alaska Spaceport (Source: Space News)
Astra says it has identified the cause of an August launch failure and is gearing up for its next mission. The company said Tuesday that the Aug. 28 launch of its Rocket 3.3 vehicle failed to reach orbit because propellant leaked from supply lines and ignited at liftoff, disabling a fuel pump and shutting down one of five engines in the rocket's first stage. Astra has made several changes to the vehicle to prevent the problem from happening again. The next Rocket 3.3 launch is scheduled for late October or early November from Kodiak Island, Alaska. (10/12)

Hiber Partners with Inmarsat for IoT (Source: Space News)
Hiber is partnering with Inmarsat to provide satellite-based internet-of-things connectivity. The companies announced Tuesday that Hiber will use Inmarsat's satellites, including a specialized network Inmarsat created called ELERA that is optimized for IoT services, to serve its customers. Hiber previously planned to provide services using its own smallsat constellation but recently abandoned that effort, surrendering the license for that system to the FCC. (10/12)

Japan's Frequent Flyer Readies for Fifth Launch, Six Month ISS Visit (Source: Kyodo)
Veteran Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will make his fifth space flight next year on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Japanese space agency JAXA announced Tuesday that Wakata will join the Crew-5 mission, currently scheduled to launch in the fall of 2022 for a six-month stay on the International Space Station. NASA assigned two of its astronauts to that mission last week. Wakata flew on three shuttle missions in 1996, 2000 and 2009, and went to the ISS in 2013 on a Soyuz for a long-duration mission. (10/12)

Japan's Epsilon Rocket Launch Postponed, H-2A Next Up (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Japanese small launch vehicle is facing an extended delay. The Epsilon rocket had its second launch attempt scrubbed last week by winds, and JAXA officials did not immediately announce a new launch date. The agency now says it will wait to try again until after the launch later this month of an H-2A rocket carrying a navigation satellite. While the Epsilon and H-2A launch from different spaceports, they share some infrastructure. (10/12)

UK's Skyrora Plans Launch From Shetland Spaceport (Source: AberdeenPress and Journal)
U.K. launch vehicle startup Skyrora says it plans to launch from a new spaceport in the Shetland Islands. The company says it reached an agreement with SaxaVord Spaceport, formerly the Shetland Space Center, to conduct a series of launches from the spaceport over the next decade. Skyrora is one of several companies claiming it will be the first to conduct a launch from the U.K. as soon as next year. (10/12)

Space Florida, Florida Venture Forum Announce Winners of Early Stage Capital Conference and Collegiate Startup Competition (Source: Space Florida)
Space Florida and the Florida Venture Forum have selected Calculum, Inc., FLUIX LLC and Oracle Heath, Inc., as the award winners at the 2021 Florida Early Stage Capital Conference. A panel of investor judges reviewed each eligible company’s presentation and supporting materials. Grand Prize Winner Calculum Inc., will receive $40,000 of Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation (AI) Award, while 1st Runner-Up FLUIX LLC will receive $30,000 and 2nd Runner-Up Oracle Health, Inc. will receive $20,000.

Additionally, Abilitare (University of Florida) and Eucovent (University of South Florida) were the two winners in the 12th Annual Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition and will each receive $5,000. The event marks the 14th year the Florida Venture Forum has hosted the Florida Early Stage Capital Conference. The 24 presenting companies were selected from a pool of more than 150 applicants by a committee of active Florida venture capital investors. Space Florida provided the Accelerating Innovation prize money totaling $100,000. (10/8)

Army, NRO Use Satellites for Battlefield Targeting (Source: Breaking Defense)
The National Reconnaissance Office and US Army have confirmed the ability to directly access satellite data for targeting a key capability demonstrated during the Scarlet Dragon exercise. "Theater downlink is an important capability for defense and intelligence users," said Jeremy Banik, deputy director of NRO's Commercial Systems Program Office. (10/11)

Beyond Earth Welcomes Laura Forczyk to Team (Source: Beyond Earth)
The Beyond Earth Institute is pleased to announce that Laura Forczyk has joined the Beyond Earth team as Vice President of Research and Analytics. Ms. Forczyk brings considerable experience, thought leadership and analytical skills to the Beyond Earth team in her new role. Also known as “BE,” the Beyond Earth Institute conducts research on policy options for economically vibrant communities beyond Earth. (10/11)

ESA Scales Up Planetary Defense Facilities (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The new heart of ESA’s Planetary Defence Office was inaugurated today, heralding a new chapter in the Agency’s work to protect Earth from dangerous near-Earth objects, aka asteroids. For years, ESA has been dedicated to opening our eyes to hazards in space, and when it came to asteroids this meant ensuring Europe had the capability to detect, track and understand what’s out there.

In 2019, ESA adopted a renewed ’Space Safety’ program, and ESA’s Planetary Defenders are not only building new, state-of-the-art telescopic eyes on the sky but are working with the international community to devise, build and fly missions to help test asteroid deflection for the first time. What was once a modest office at ESA’s ESRIN establishment, in Frascati, Italy, has been renovated into a much more capable facility to serve as ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center, NEOCC. (10/12)

Strange Radio Waves Emerge From the Direction of the Galactic Center (Source: Phys.org)
Astronomers have discovered unusual signals coming from the direction of the Milky Way's center. The radio waves fit no currently understood pattern of variable radio source and could suggest a new class of stellar object. "The strangest property of this new signal is that it is has a very high polarization. This means its light oscillates in only one direction, but that direction rotates with time," said Ziteng Wang, lead author of the new study and a Ph.D. student in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney.

"The brightness of the object also varies dramatically, by a factor of 100, and the signal switches on and off apparently at random. We've never seen anything like it." Many types of star emit variable light across the electromagnetic spectrum. With tremendous advances in radio astronomy, the study of variable or transient objects in radio waves is a huge field of study helping us to reveal the secrets of the Universe. Pulsars, supernovae, flaring stars and fast radio bursts are all types of astronomical objects whose brightness varies. (10/12)

Astronaut Captures Rare, Ethereal Lightning Flash from Space Station (Source: C/Net)
"Transient luminous event" sounds like a euphemism for a ghost, but it's actually a beautiful phenomenon that can sometimes be seen from the International Space Station. European Space Agency astronaut and current ISS resident Thomas Pesquet shared a view of an ethereal blue glow emerging over Europe. Transient luminous events are caused by upper-atmospheric lightning. This one happened in early September and Pesquet tweeted about it this week, calling it "a very rare occurrence."

"What is fascinating about this lightning is that just a few decades ago they had been observed anecdotally by pilots and scientists were not convinced they actually existed," Pesquet said on Flickr. "Fast forward a few years and we can confirm elves, and sprites are very real and could be influencing our climate too!" Pesquet's image represents a single frame from a time-lapse taken from the station. The image would be a beauty just for the way it shows the curve of Earth and the twinkling lights of Europe below. The transient luminous event captured at its finest moment takes it to the next level. Click here. (10/11)

Do We Really Need to Send Actors Into Space? (Source: The Spectator)
I’m all in favor of method acting, but propelling actors into space defies the principal purpose of the space movie. There’s artistry to be found in the gap between our idea of space and its reality. Think of the opening sequence of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey – it’s pure poetry. Worse than simply being an unnecessary waste of time, effort and carbon, the sending of an actress and director into space for a 12-day shoot is also detrimental to the art. Because without having the room for the cameras, or the sound and lighting team, or any of the dozens of people running around with the lattes and gaffer tape that you need to competently make a feature film, you’re likely to end up with something that – funnily enough – lacks atmosphere. (10/11)

Canadian Woman Awakes to a Hole in Her Roof and a Space Rock on Her Pillow (Source: Castlegar News)
On Oct. 4, many were treated to the sight of a fireball lighting up the night sky, with images of a meteor sailing above Lake Louise striking awe. Longtime Golden resident Ruth Hamilton, however, was fast asleep. Or at least she was until she was roughly awoken by the sound of a crash through her ceiling and the sensation of debris on her face. She said she took a look around to get her bearings, and spotting a rock sitting neatly on her pillow next to where her head usually lays. (10/8)

‘Mellow’ Supermassive Black Holes Could be Creating Mysterious Cosmic Particles (Source: Physics World)
“Mellow” supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the centers of some galaxies could be the source of mysterious low-energy gamma rays and high-energy neutrinos that have been seen by some observatories, according to physicists in Japan and the US. They came to this conclusion by developing models of processes that occur when matter falls into SMBHs. Their results provide guidance to future experiments that will search for the sources of cosmic gamma rays and neutrinos.

The universe is filled with energetic cosmic particles including photons, neutrinos and protons. These are believed to be produced by violent astrophysical processes such as those occurring in exploding stars (supernovae) or in active galactic nuclei (AGN). The latter are regions found at the centers of some galaxies, where material accretes onto an SMBH forming a hot, extremely bright plasma.

Kimura’s team focused on SMBHs that are much quieter than a typical AGN – these are mellow objects that accrete lower quantities of material. Since the plasma that forms around these bodies is less dense, it is far less efficient at radiating heat, and can reach temperatures of tens of billions of degrees. Under these conditions, photons are emitted by fast-moving electrons as they change direction. These photons are then scattered by other fast-moving electrons in the plasma, which can boost photon energies into the megaelectronvolt range. (10/10)

Aerostat: A Russian Long-Range Anti-Ballistic Missile System with Possible Counterspace Capabilities (Source: Space Review)
Russia has been working for several years on an anti-ballistic missile system called Aerostat. Bart Hendrickx examines that effort and how it could also be used as an antisatellite weapon. Click here. (10/11)
 
Lollipops and ASATs (Source: Space Review)
Antisatellite weapons were a concern for the US as far back as the early years of the Space Age. Dwayne Day explores what declassified documents have revealed about American efforts to track Soviet radars and other capabilities linked to ASATs. Click here. (10/11)
 
The UK Looks for Its Place in Space (Source: Space Review)
The British government released a new national space strategy last month that established a series of goals and objectives for the country’s space sector. Jeff Foust reports on that strategy and some of the issues facing Britain as it seeks to bolster its space industry. Click here. (10/11)

ESA to Test 3D Printing in Space Using Scrap Metals From the Moon (Source: Interesting Engineering)
Life on the moon may still be a far-away concept, but that hasn't stopped space agencies from preparing for it. The European Space Agency (ESA) has recently partnered with Incus, OHB System AG, and Lithoz GmbH in a joint project to develop and test 3D printing in a micro-gravity environment reminiscent of the moon.

The project stems from the need to provide spare parts on the moon that have not been flown in through Earth. The new technology uses recycled powders from scrap metals that are readily available on the Moon to produce new materials. Incus’ Lithography-based Metal Manufacturing (LMM) process is a form of 3D printing technology for creating advanced metal parts that uses the principle of photopolymerization. The companies deem this a very sustainable type of 3D printing for this specific application. (10/9)