October 13, 2021

UAE Gets New Space Chief (Source: Space News)
The UAE's space agency has a new leader. Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi was appointed the new director-general of its national space agency in a reshuffle executed by a federal decree issued Monday by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Al Qubaisi, who previously worked for the UAE Armed Forces, replaces Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, who has served as director-general of the UAE Space Agency since its formation in 2014. (10/13)

Group Sues Texas Over Boca Chica Beach Closures for SpaceX (Source: Reuters)
An environmental group is suing Texas officials about beach closures linked to SpaceX's Boca Chica test site. SaveRGV said extensive closures of Boca Chica Beach to accommodate SpaceX activities violates a clause in the state constitution regarding public access to beaches. A 2013 state law allows beach closures for spaceflight activities, but the group said provisions of the law violate the constitution. SaveRGV estimates that Boca Chica Beach has been closed for 450 hours a year since 2019. (10/13)

Rocket Lab Acquires Colorado Software Company (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab is acquiring an aerospace software company. Rocket Lab said Tuesday it is purchasing Advanced Solutions, Inc., a Colorado company that develops flight software, mission simulation systems and guidance, navigation and control software. Rocket Lab said it's paying $40 million for the company, with up to $5.5 million in additional earnouts depending on the company's performance in 2021. Advanced Solutions will continue to serve existing customers while also supporting Rocket Lab programs. (10/13)

SLS Rocket Stacking for Artemis 1 Mission (Source: NASA)
NASA is one step closer to completing the assembly of the rocket for Artemis 1. NASA said Tuesday it installed the Orion Stage Adapter on top of the upper stage of the SLS, replacing a mass simulator that had been there. The adapter is the final piece of hardware before the Orion spacecraft and its launch abort system are added to the vehicle. The stage adapter also hosts 10 cubesat secondary payloads flying on Artemis 1; 13 were originally manifested for the mission but three suffered setbacks that kept them from being ready in time. (10/13)

Space Exploration Should Aim for Peace, Collaboration and Cooperation, Not War and Competition (Source: Phys.org)
Space technology and applications have evolved rapidly since Sputnik 1. Seven decades of space exploration and use have revolutionized the way the world communicates and greatly enhanced navigation on air, ground and sea. Space science has enabled us to monitor weather patterns, enhance land use and greatly advance our understanding of our own planet and our place in the universe.

The desire to counter the space ambitions of others and to achieve superiority in space seems to have re-emerged. Despite the proliferation and commercialization of space activities, and the recognition of space as an essential part of every country's economic, social and scientific progress, there is an alarming build-up of counter-space capabilities worldwide.

Even as private citizens can now crew space missions, military strategists are warning the competitive and congested nature of space will lead to an outbreak of conflict in outer space. Simmering tensions on Earth increase the risk that humanity may somehow lurch into an unimaginable space war, destroying economies and critical civilian and military infrastructure that have become so heavily space-dependent. Click here. (10/12)

Maxar Files Protest to SDA Constellation Procurement (Source: Space News)
Maxar is protesting the Space Development Agency's procurement of 126 low Earth orbit communications satellites. Maxar did not disclose the specific details about the protest, but said it "wants to ensure that the government is following its own rules in connection with the procurement" including federal acquisition regulations. Maxar filed the protest Oct. 8, the date proposals for the Transport Layer Tranche 1 program were due to SDA. The agency previously said as many as three suppliers could be selected to produce 126 satellites. (10/13)

Planet Plans Next Generation Imaging Satellite (Source: Space News)
Planet announced it will build a new generation of very high resolution image satellites. The Pelican satellites will be the successors to the SkySat series of satellites, capable of producing 50-centimeter imagery. While the SkySats were built by Maxar, Planet says it will design and build the Pelican satellites in house, but did not disclose what resolution imagery they will provide. The first Pelican satellites will launch in 2022. (10/13)

Australia to Provide Lunar Rover for NASA Mission (Source: Space News)
Australia will contribute a small robotic rover to a future NASA lunar lander mission. NASA and the Australian Space Agency announced Tuesday that Australia will produce the rover for a NASA commercial lander mission launching no earlier than 2026. The rover will scoop up regolith and return it to the lander, where a NASA payload will test the ability to extract oxygen from it. The rover is part of a $110 million "Moon to Mars Initiative" by the Australian government announced in 2019 as part of an agreement with NASA to cooperate on the Artemis program. (10/13)

NRO Officially Solicits Commercial Radar Satellite Imagery (Source: Space News)
The NRO published its first solicitation for commercial space radar imagery Tuesday. The request for bids for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is part of a larger effort to tap commercial sources of space data announced last week by NRO Director Christopher Scolese. The SAR procurement is significant because it's open to U.S. domestic industry as well as to foreign-owned U.S. companies. (10/13)

JWST Arrives at Kourou for December Launch Prep (Source: Space.com)
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has arrived in French Guiana. NASA and ESA said Tuesday that the ship transporting the giant space telescope from Southern California had arrived in French Guiana for launch on an Ariane 5 Dec. 18. NASA released few details about the telescope's shipment until after it arrived as part of security precautions. (10/13)

YouTube Picked Kids Featured in VP Harris Space Video (Source: The Hill)
The White House on Tuesday said it did not select the children, reportedly child actors, who appeared in a YouTube video with Vice President Harris. YouTube confirmed that it had selected the children in the video and reached out to various sources, including casting websites, to find them. The video led to mockery of Harris by some Republicans, who have taken shots at the White House for staging the event. (10/12)

Blue Origin Launches More People, Includiong Captain Kirk, on Second Suborbital Flight From Texas (Source: Space News)
Blue Origin conducted its second crewed flight, carrying Star Trek actor William Shatner, Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen, Medidata Solutions co-founder Glen de Vries, and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin vice president of mission and flight operations. Shatner got a free ride. Boshuizen and de Vries paid an undisclosed sum. The successful flight concluded with emotional and inspiring words from Shatner sure to promote follow-on missions. (10/13)