October 5, 2021

‘Distant Cosmic Explosion’ Was Actually Russian Space Junk, New Studies Argue (Source: Science)
Last year, a team of astronomers made a blockbuster claim, saying they had captured the most distant cosmic explosion ever—a gamma ray burst in a galaxy called GN-z11. But that flash of light—supposedly from the most distant galaxy known—has a far more prosaic explanation: It was a glinting reflection from a tumbling, spent Russian rocket that happened to photobomb observers at just the right moment, two new studies claim.

“In the end, I’m of the opinion that this was a fluke,” says D. Alexander Kann, an expert in gamma ray bursts at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia who was not involved in either of the studies. Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the universe. They occur when enormous stars die and collapse into a black hole, or when compact objects such as neutron stars merge into a black hole. Although they happen all the time, the chances of catching one when a telescope is pointed at a particular galaxy are quite slim. (10/4)

SpaceX to Launch Falcon Heavy Rocket 3 Tmes in 6 Months After Latest Payload Delay (Source: Teslarati)
For at least the second time in 2021, unspecified issues with a US military payload have delayed SpaceX’s next Falcon Heavy launch, this time pushing the mission into next year. Known as USSF-44 (formerly AFSPC-44), the Space Force contracted a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in Feb. 2019 to launch the classified payload for roughly $150M in fiscal year 2021 (no earlier than Q4 2020). Gradually, USSF-44 slipped without explanation to Q2 2021, at which point SpaceX had fully qualified and delivered all three new Falcon Heavy boosters and an expendable upper stage for the mission.

USSF-44’s latest delay means that SpaceX is now likely to go a full 30 months between Falcon Heavy flights after completing the rocket’s third and most recent launch in June 2019. The slip to “early 2022” also leaves the company with an extremely ambitious launch manifest in the first half of 2022. Barring one or several significant delays, which now seems like the most plausible outcome, SpaceX has four major Falcon Heavy missions – USSF-44, USSF-52, ViaSat-3, and NASA’s Psyche probe – scheduled to launch by August. A fifth mission – USSF-67 – is scheduled to launch in Q4 2022 and likely on another Falcon Heavy rocket, though the US military has yet to specify the Falcon variant. (10/5)

USNC-Tech Team Wins Contract to Develop Nuclear Thermal Propulsion System for NASA (Source: Space Daily)
Idaho National Laboratory has selected USNC-Tech and its partners to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) reactor concept design for space exploration: the Power-Adjusted Demonstration Mars Engine (PADME) NTP engine. This effort, one of three selected by the government team, is a step toward the manufacture and demonstration of safe, affordable, reliable, high-performance NTP engines for crewed deep space travel.

In the future, the designs could inform a full-scale NTP engine prototype. The funding for this procurement was provided by NASA. INL is operated by Battelle Energy Alliance for the Department of Energy. Supported by Blue Origin, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, GE Research, Framatome, and Materion, the USNC-Tech team is focused on a design approach that supports manufacturability, ease of integration and deployment, mission expansion and ultimately commercial viability. (10/5)

UAE Sets Sights on Venus with New Five-Year Space Mission (Source: The National)
The UAE's next space mission will set its sights on Venus, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has said. As part of the country's 50 projects announcement, seven asteroids will also be explored, he said. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2028, with the primary goal of exploring the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This is where most meteorites that impact earth are found. (10/5)

China's Space Refueling Vehicle Makes Debut at Airshow China 2021 (Source: Space Daily)
A space refueling vehicle built by China made its debut at the ongoing 13th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China 2021). The refueling vehicle has been developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Lifespans of satellites could be extended thanks to the space refueling vehicle, said its developer. Equipped with a navigation system composed of radars and cameras, the vehicle can track and approach the satellite low on propellant under the guidance of the ground control system. (10/5)

China Plans to Build Special Site for Weekly Launch of Long March 8 Rockets (Source: Sputnik)
China plans to build a special pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan to launch the next-generation Long March 8 rockets on a weekly basis, the head of the Long March 8 project at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), Xiao Yun, said. "Our current preliminary plan is that we will be able to carry out one launch every seven days to meet public needs," Xiao said. According to the project manger, if two such sites are built in the future, then at least 50 launches of this type of rockets alone can be carried out per year, which exceeds the current total annual number of China's missile launches. (10/5)

China's New Small Satellite Platform Debuts (Source: Space Daily)
China is offering a small communication satellite platform to countries seeking an affordable solution for their own space-based internet networks. The DFH-3E satellite platform was designed by the China Academy of Space Technology, a subsidiary of the State-owned space conglomerate, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. It is the country's first small satellite platform designed for operations in geostationary orbit, according to Xiong Xiaojiang, head of the platform's design team at the Beijing academy. (10/5)

GomSpace Signs a Contract with SpaceAble to Enhance the Sustainability of Low Earth Orbit (Source: Space Daily)
GomSpace entered into an agreement with SpaceAble to enhance the sustainability of Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The contract is worth 21MSEK (US$2.4M) and the project will begin in 2021 with expected delivery in late 2023. By tracking the inherent risk of space weather thanks to SpaceAble's technology and GomSpace's platform, we are working at a larger level on providing the market with a comprehensive solution-which includes both inspector satellites and critical space data-to strengthen the resilience of new constellations.

GomSpace Luxembourg s.a.r.l. and the space technology company OHB have signed a contract for the Inter Satellite Link system for the ESA HERA mission to be delivered in June 2022. The PATP value is EUR 500,000. The ESA HERA mission consists of one mother-spacecraft developed by OHB and two CubeSats. GomSpace provides one of the CubeSats (Juventas) as well as the Inter-satellite link system (ISL) between the three spacecrafts enabling the communication between the spacecrafts as well as communication to Earth. The ESA HERA mission is a planetary defense mission into deep space to be launched in 2024. (10/5)

Lockheed Martin Opens New Hypersonic Missile Factory in Huntsville (Source: Air Force Magazine)
Lockheed Martin opened a new “smart” factory in Alabama where the Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) will be manufactured, along with hypersonic systems for the Army and Navy, the company announced Oct. 4. The opening of the factory is noteworthy in that the ARRW has yet to make a successful flight.

The 65,000-square-foot facility, to be called Missile Assembly Building 4 (MAB 4), in Courtland, Ala., will also be used to build the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile, Lockheed Martin said in a press release. Those two systems have major components in common, including the hypersonic glide body vehicle itself. The Air Force was also a partner on that project—under the name Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, or HCSW—until it decided to pursue the ARRW exclusively in February 2020. (10/4)

Air Force's X-37B Robotic Space Plane Wings Past 500 Days in Earth Orbit (Source: Space.com)
That enigmatic U.S. military X-37B robotic space drone has now chalked up more than 500 days circling the Earth. The Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-6) is also called USSF-7 for the U.S. Space Force and launched May 17, 2020, on an Atlas V 501 booster. OTV-6 is the first to use a service module to host experiments. The service module is an attachment to the aft of the vehicle that allows additional experimental payload capability to be carried to orbit. (10/2)

Drahi Drags Satellite M&A Into Near-Earth Orbit (Source: Reuters)
Patrick Drahi’s next big deal could be out of this world, literally. France’s Eutelsat last week rejected a 2.8 billion euro bid from the telecom tycoon. The prospect of a lucrative merger with 3 billion euro rival SES may tempt the Altice owner to try a relaunch. Eutelsat and SES share a problem. Their satellites are ideal for beaming television signals. But TV is in decline. And the vast distance makes their satellites ill-suited to the faster-growing broadband business. Online activities like gaming require near-instantaneous response times; even light takes half a second to make the round trip from one player to another and back via one of their satellites.

So why is Drahi interested in Eutelsat? One draw is a share price languishing 30% below its January 2020 level, even though the pandemic barely dented its business. In that context, the 17% premium offered by Drahi, who has a keen eye for a bargain, may seem miserly. Eutelsat shares are trading above the rejected 12.1 euro per share offer, suggesting investors expect him to return. Their thinking is sound. Eutelsat’s standalone prospects may be gloomy. But Drahi could wring out juicy cost savings by merging the business with SES. (10/4)

Russian Film Crew Arrives at ISS (Source: Space News)
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying a veteran cosmonaut and film crew arrived at the International Space Station after launch early this morning. A Soyuz rocket launched the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft at 4:55 a.m. Eastern from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft docked with the station's Rassvet module at 8:22 a.m. Eastern, using a manual approach after problems with the automated docking system. The spacecraft is commanded by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, who will stay on the station through March. The other two people on the spacecraft are actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko, who will film scenes for a Russian movie called Vyzov or Challenge during their 12-day stay. (10/5)

Voyager Space Acquiring Valley Tech Systems (Source: Space News)
Voyager Space is acquiring propulsion company Valley Tech Systems, the companies announced Monday. Valley Tech Systems has developed solid-fueled propulsion for long-range missiles, as well as signal processing and geolocation technologies for the U.S. military. It is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Voyager, which is building out a portfolio of space companies. Voyager CEO Dylan Taylor said that Valley Tech systems "can help to solve key pain points for space missions and create a safer and more affordable space ecosystem." (10/5)

NGA Renews Access to Maxar Imagery (Source: Space News)
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has renewed a contract with Maxar for imagery. The $44 million deal is the second of three options included in the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery (G-EGD) contract, which has a total potential value of up to $176 million. The G-EGD program was established in 2011 to give government agencies access to Maxar's historical imagery library and its ongoing daily collections. (10/5)

South Korea Opens Military Space Operations Center (Source: Space News)
South Korea's air force has opened a space operations center. The center, opened last week, will play a central role in developing space policies for the nation's armed forces as well as enhancing cooperation with domestic and international partners, including U.S. Space Force. The center's opening took place one month after the South Korean air force decided to join U.S. Space Force-led joint military drills aimed at bolstering the latter’s defense capabilities in outer space. (10/5)
 
Falcon Heavy Mission for Space Force Slips to 2022 (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Falcon Heavy launch that has been scheduled for this fall has slipped to 2022. The Space Force said that the USSF-44 mission, previously scheduled for Oct. 9, has been delayed to early 2022 "to accommodate payload readiness." The Space Force has not disclosed details about the payloads other than that one of them is a smallsat called Tetra 1. Falcon Heavy has not launched since June 2019, although SpaceX continues to win government and commercial orders for the vehicle. (10/5)

HySpecIQ Satellites to Use BridgeComm Optical Links (Source: Space News)
Hyperspectral analytics company HySpecIQ will use optical communications capabilities from BridgeComm. HySpecIQ says its future satellites will include optical downlink systems, providing high bandwidth transmission of imagery from those satellites to ground stations. HySpecIQ, which recently secured an investment of more than $20 million from venture capitalist Peter Thiel, expects to launch its first satellites in 2023. (10/5)

WorldView Balloon Capsule to Carry 10 People on 12-Hour Flights (Source: Space News)
World View is returning to its roots of offering stratospheric balloon flights for tourists. The company announced Monday its Explorer Space Capsule, which will carry eight passengers and two crew by balloon to altitudes of about 30 kilometers for flights lasting up to 12 hours. World View expects those flights to begin as soon as early 2024. World View was founded nearly a decade ago with plans for such flights, but shelved that effort in favor of uncrewed "stratollite" balloons carrying imaging and communications payloads. The new initiative puts World View in competition with two of its co-founders, which started a new company, Space Perspective, last year to provide stratospheric balloon flights. (10/5)

Russian Lunar Mission Delayed to July 2022 (Source: TASS)
A Russian lunar mission has suffered another launch delay. Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin said the Luna-25 lander mission was now scheduled for launch in July 2022, two months later than previously announced. The mission has suffered a number of delays, previously being pushed back from October 2021 to May 2022. Rogozin did not comment on the reason for this latest delay. (10/5)

China Borrows From SpaceX, Blue Origin for Suborbital Tourism Vehicle Design (Source: Space.com)
A proposed Chinese suborbital space tourism vehicle looks like a combination of Crew Dragon and New Shepard. CAS Space, a spinoff of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently unveiled a design of a suborbital vehicle designed to take up to seven people to an altitude of 100 kilometers. The vehicle features a crew capsule that looks remarkably like Crew Dragon, mounted on top of a booster that resembles that used by Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle.

The booster includes grid fins like those on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, and the booster would be "caught" on landing by arms attached to the launch tower, a concept proposed by SpaceX for its Starship/Super Heavy vehicle. CAS Space claims the vehicle will be ready for a test flight in 2022 and commercial operations in 2024. (10/5)

AstroAccess Reveals Crew of 12 Disability Ambassadors for Historic ZERO-G Parabolic Flight (Source: SpaceRef)
AstroAcccess, a mission dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in space exploration, today unveils a crew of 12 ambassadors selected to participate in a parabolic flight with the Zero Gravity Corp. on 17 October 2021. The flight marks an important milestone in AstroAccess’ mission to open space to all, and will comprise of disabled scientists, veterans, engineers, and artists who will each experience weightlessness and carry out experimentation and demonstration tasks.

The team seeks to assess how the physical environment onboard space vessels could be modified so that all astronauts and explorers, regardless of disability on Earth, can live, work, and thrive in space. This inaugural flight will focus on operational tasks that will demonstrate the abilities of disabled crew members to work effectively in a microgravity environment and investigate minor changes that could be made to ensure space vessels are accessible by design. This will include examining physical environment accessibility, multi-sensory communication for safety procedures, as well as data collection of microgravity demonstrations. (10/5)

Five Big Questions About the International Space Station Becoming a Movie Set (Source: Space Review)
On Tuesday, a Soyuz spacecraft will launch a professional cosmonaut to the International Space Station along with a director and an actress, who will film scenes for a movie. Alice Gorman examines some of the issues raised by this novel use of the station. Click here. (10/4)
 
Resilience and Space Situational Awareness: an Interview with NASA Astronaut Mike Hopkins (Source: Space Review)
The Inspiration4 mission was the second flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft called Resilience, which first flew NASA’s Crew-1 mission. Jeff Foust interviews NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, the commander of that mission, about his experiences and future plans. Click here. (10/4)
 
Inspiration4 Sent Four People with Minimal Training to Orbit and Brought Space Tourism Closer to Reality (Source: Space Review)
While Inspiration4 may have been a one-off mission, it may serve as a precursor for more private orbital human missions. Wendy Whitman Cobb explains how that mission, perhaps more than suborbital spaceflight, may be the future of space tourism. Click here. (10/4)

Baby Planets Marinate in a Life-Giving Cyanide 'Soup,' Analysis Reveals (Source: Space.com)
Because of their shapes and the bonds inside them, different chemicals vibrate in unique ways, producing telltale signatures that the ALMA telescope can capture, according to scientists. The team looked at five protoplanetary disks, all between 1 million and 10 million years old, within a few hundred light-years of Earth. "That means they are in an actively planet-forming epoch," Öberg said.

MAPS determines not only the specific molecules in protoplanetary disks but also their locations. "Planets can form at many different distances from the star," Öberg said, so it's important to know what chemicals are available in each location to build these future planets. One of the most exciting findings for her was the abundance and distribution of a class of molecules known as cyanides. The simplest member of this family, hydrogen cyanide, is typically considered a poison, though many theories for the origin of life include a major role for this chemical class, she said. (10/5)

Blue Origin’s Ideas to Mimic SpaceX Sound Pretty Brutal for Employees (Source: The Verge)
In an attempt to recreate SpaceX’s success, executives at spaceflight venture Blue Origin once praised the rival company’s “burnout” culture as a working labor strategy, with some managers arguing that Blue Origin needs to “get more” out of employees and encourage them to come in on the weekends. The grueling working strategies were summed up in a 2018 memo compiled by Blue Origin executives.

The Blue Origin memo seems to claim that SpaceX succeeds by “selling inspiration and guiding vision to employees,” thanks to strong branding and an active social media presence. And since these workers are hired at the beginning of their careers, they are “driven to work long hours,” with peer pressure a driving factor behind their schedules. As a result, SpaceX achieves “low cost relative to work output” and “high attrition with early burnout.”

Another strategy the memo cites is that SpaceX actively maintains a “bottom 10 percent” of its workforce, all of whom are automatically put on performance improvement plans or PIP. Other companies have also employed similar tactics, including Amazon, another company founded by Jeff Bezos. But the memo claims that SpaceX automatically lets go of the bottom 10 percent of its workforce each year “ensuring they have a clear path to a continually improving workforce,” Sallee wrote. (10/4)