October 9, 2021

The Great Balloon Race (Source: CNN)
World View isn't the only company to have entered the balloon space race. Its top competitor is Florida-based Space Perspective, which also hopes to start balloon flights aboard its craft Spaceship Neptune in 2024 -- although it's priced considerably higher, at $125,000 a seat. Space Perspective was founded in 2019 by two of World View's co-founders, Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter.

You see, this isn't World View's first time at the space rodeo. Back in 2014, it was also chasing the space balloon dream with its Voyager craft, although tickets back then were $75,000 -- not that the project came to fruition. Hartman, World View's CEO of two years, says affordability and accessibility are at the core of their 2021 offering. "$50,000 is still a lot of money. But it's our starting point. And to assist customers in achieving their dream in participating in space tourism, we are offering flexible financing."

Global Marketing Manager Phil Wocken explains a little more about how they chose that price point. "We feel that it is critical to keep the cost low enough to be as affordable to as many people as possible. Financing options just don't exist in the $75-125K+ range. "We've also chosen helium instead of hydrogen as our lift gas, which costs 10 times more than hydrogen, but we felt it was an important sacrifice as we prioritize the safety of our flights." (10/8)

Head of Lockheed Martin Space to Retire (Source: Defense News)
Rick Ambrose, the chief of Lockheed Martin’s space business, announced on Oct. 7 his impending retirement, following eight years leading a unit that delivered some of the U.S. Space Force’s most important satellites and related systems. Ambrose will continue to serve in his position until a successor is named. He will then serve as strategic adviser to ensure a smooth transition and will officially retire March 1, 2022. (10/8)

Boeing Center Develops Virtual Training for Navy Planes (Source: Jacksonville Times-Union)
On a tour of Boeing's new training development center for Navy aircraft in Jacksonville, Capt. Matthew Pottenburgh eagerly put on virtual reality goggles and picked up controllers, moving his head around as he marveled at his new virtual surroundings. "Up in the nose wheel well!" he said. "It's just like you're in the airplane."

They were on hand Tuesday as the company showed off its new Boeing Jacksonville Training Systems Center of Excellence, where it develops maintenance training systems for military aircraft at NAS Jacksonville. Boeing also has facilities at Cecil Airport where it maintains and modifies Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, among other functions. The company says it will soon break ground on a new hangar and office space there to consolidate and expand its services. That's expected to open in January 2024, adding an anticipated 400 jobs to the 350 already at Cecil. (9/28)

Is Conflict in Space Inevitable? (Source: The Hill)
In recent years, nations have started flexing their muscles in space. Four years ago, China destroyed one of its weather satellites with a missile, creating tens of thousands of pieces of shrapnel, all large enough and traveling fast enough to destroy another satellite or pose a threat to the International Space Station. Two years later, India joined the list of nations capable of space warfare by destroying one of its own satellites.

Just last year, Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test, and the United States activated two command centers for the Space Force, the branch of the military designed to conduct its operations in outer space. Is this crescendo of activity a harbinger of international space warfare? For now, we are witnessing nations testing their space technology. There has never been an armed conflict in space — but it is the next arena for combat.

Charles Richard, the deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, warned in 2017 that the country needs to be prepared to fight and win wars in all domains, including space. “While we’re not at war in space, we’re not exactly at peace either,” Richard said. (10/9)

Lawmaker to Space Force: Stop Talking About Uniforms, Tell Me About Tech (Source: Breaking Defense)
A prominent lawmaker who helps oversee the Space Force’s budget is tired of hearing about the service’s new dress uniforms and wants its leadership to focus more on developing cutting-edge satellites and rockets. Rep. Jim Cooper, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee, admonished the service to “step up its game” during the Politico Defense Forum on Thursday.

“I wish we were reading in the papers more about killer new satellite systems instead of killer uniforms or big bold headquarters,” said Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat. “We’ve got to make sure that our technology is state of the art. In fact, we need to be a couple of decades ahead of our near peer adversaries.” Cooper said he believes the Space Force has the budget it needs to succeed but is still moving too sluggishly. Meanwhile, Russia and China continue to make “extraordinary” advances in space technology while spending “pennies on the dollar” compared to the US, he said. (10/7)

A Visual Introduction to the Dwarf Planets in our Solar System (Source: Visual Capitalist)
A dwarf planet is a celestial body that almost meets the definition of a “true” planet. According to the IAU, which sets definitions for planetary science, a planet must: 1) Orbit the Sun; 2) Have enough mass to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium and assume a nearly round shape; and 3) Dominate its orbit and not share it with other objects. Dwarf planets, along with not being moons or satellites, fail to clear the neighborhoods around their orbits. This is the primary reason why Pluto lost its status: because it shares part of its orbit with the Kuiper belt, a dense region of icy space bodies. Click here. (10/8)

Classified Space Programs Poised for Budget Boost (Source: National Defense)
Classified space program funding is slated for significant growth, even as some defense officials are pushing for more transparency on capabilities that have been closely guarded secrets, according to one analyst. President Joe Biden requested $17.5 billion for the Space Force in fiscal year 2022, a 13 percent bump over what was enacted for 2021. About 27 percent of that is for classified efforts.

Total spending on classified defense space programs was first revealed last year. Previously, it was “buried” in other toplines, Russell Rumbaugh noted. In the president’s 2022 fiscal blueprint, classified RDT&E program spending for the Space Force would increase by 22 percent — a significantly higher rate than the service’s overall budget growth, he noted. Classified procurement would nearly double from $78 million to $142 million, he said. (10/8)

Musk Says 'Do Not Worry Too Much' About Methane, the Gas Used in SpaceX Rocket Fuel (Source: Business Insider)
Elon Musk endorsed a carbon tax at Tesla's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, a position he's held since 2015, even though implementing one could impact his spaceflight ambitions. Earlier this year, Musk said he suggested the policy to the Biden administration but was told it was too politically difficult. "Can there be a carbon tax? I mean, what the hell?" Musk told shareholders, adding that while the tax would benefit Tesla, it would ultimately hurt SpaceX.

He added that people should not "worry too much about methane," the gas responsible for 20% of global greenhouse emissions. According to the EPA, methane is 25 times as strong as carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. It's also the gas used to fuel SpaceX's Starship rocket, which Musk hopes to send to Mars. In January, Tesla announced plans to drill near a Texas launchpad for natural gas. "Methane quickly breaks down into CO2," Musk said. "Methane is not a stable molecule, CO2 is extremely stable." (10/9)

The Mystery of Elon Musk’s Missing Methane (Source: Tech Crunch)
An environmental document that needs FAA approval before SpaceX can begin testing the world’s largest rockets is missing key details about where its fuel will come from, experts say. The draft programmatic environmental assessment (PEA) for SpaceX’s Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles was issued last month by the FAA for public comment. The document covers construction and daily operations at Boca Chica, which Musk is hoping to incorporate as a city called Starbase. These include pre-flight operations, rocket tests, launches and landings, as well as fuel, water and electricity supplies.

A new pre-treatment system will purify and cool natural gas into liquid methane fuel for the Starship and Super Heavy rockets. Much more gas will be needed for a new 250-megawatt gas-fired power station. A power plant this big typically serves over 100,000 homes and can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. But while rocket launches get a lot of coverage in the PEA, the new power plant receives only a cursory mention. In particular, it is unclear how the tens of millions of cubic feet of gas required daily will get to SpaceX’s remote facility near the Mexican border.

Failing to mention this in the PEA is unusual, and possibly contravenes the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), says Pat Parenteau, professor of law and senior counsel in the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law School. A pipeline is the usual way to transport natural gas to a power station. An official at a federal agency said that earlier this year SpaceX inquired about reusing a defunct natural gas pipeline running through the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. “They want to reactivate the pipeline for transporting methane via pipeline rather than by truck as they do now,” wrote an official who asked not to be named. (10/8)

Boca Chica Needs Gas [Maybe Texas' Governor Will Help] (Source: Tech Crunch)
SpaceX has suggested that it would be interested in drilling for gas itself. In a dispute over the ownership of some abandoned gas wells, the company later wrote: “SpaceX [has] a unique ability to utilize natural gas with different economic incentives that do not depend on transportation or sale to gas markets.” Regardless of which method SpaceX opts for, the environmental impact should have been disclosed in the PEA, according to Parenteau.

“Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas and the courts have said, whenever you’re proposing a project that involves methane, you have to look all the way back to the wells, at distribution through pipelines, and at the downstream effects where the gas is burned,” he said. The PEA makes no mention of other equipment that would be typical for gas power stations and gas treatment plants, including a thermal oxidizer, ammonia storage tanks and gas flare. All of these have environmental impacts, including a carbon footprint and air pollution.

Although the gas power station’s location is still uncertain, it will be about 5.4 acres in size, have structures up to 150 feet tall, and operate continuously year-round, day and night. There is also a small (1 megawatt) solar farm that SpaceX hopes to expand. SpaceX needs the gas power station to run a new desalination plant that will produce the millions of gallons of fresh water needed annually for sound and fire suppression during launches. Large amounts of electricity will also be used to make liquid oxygen from the air. A 250-megawatt power station would normally qualify as a major new source of air pollution under the Clean Air Act. This would trigger another lengthy environmental review. (10/8)

Glenn Research Center is Using the Moon to Address Cleveland's Digital Divide (Source: News5 Cleveland)
For many communities in Cleveland, reliable internet access can be difficult to find. Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center is stepping in to use the moon to solve an earthly problem. A study by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance found that 31% of households in Cleveland had no broadband access. After the study found a deep digital divide between the city and its suburbs, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, an economic development organization, reached out to NASA Glenn for help in examining the technical barriers of reaching digital equality for all residents.

Since internet access can be as elusive as it is on moon, NASA stepped in to solve both challenges. “This presented a great opportunity to develop solutions to the challenges we face sending astronauts to the moon under Artemis while also addressing a growing societal issue in our hometown,” said Mary Lobo, director of Technology Incubation and Innovation at Glenn. “We were pleased to establish a mutually beneficial study partnership with the GCP.”

Inside the Compass Lab at NASA Glenn, which specializes in abstract spacecraft and mission design, researchers applied the lunar network approaches to address technical challenges to Wi-Fi connectivity in Cleveland. Results from the study found that attaching Wi-Fi routers to approximately 20,000 lampposts or other utility poles would help solve the city’s connectivity issues. Researchers said by spacing the routers no more than 100 yards apart, 7.5 megabits per second download speed would be available for a four-person home. (10/8)

Zimbabwean Women Break Into the International Space Industry (Source: Zimbabwe Mail)
Zimbabwean women have broken into the international space industry, with two young ladies getting due recognition for their exploits. As the world commemorates the space week running under the theme: Women in Space, advocate for gender diversity in the sector, two Zimbabwean women are making the headlines. This comes after Zimbabwe launched the science park housing the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency which is also grooming young women in the space industry.

” l was recently recognized as part of 25 international space from around the world and l will taking part of the international astronautical congress in Dubai later this month and also an emerging space leader, young leader. it will be an opportunity to put Zimbabwe on the space map highlight the immerse achievements that have been made in these few short years,” said Ruvimbo Samanyanga, Space Policy Analyst.

“I was recognized as an emerging African woman leader due to the contributions l have made in the continent looking at the work done through being the part of the South Africa team which launched the S.A satellite, the outreaches held as awareness of space hazards, being part of the team that crafted space engineering at the University of Zimbabwe, ” said Dr. Electdom Matandirotya, Chief scientist ZINGSA. (10/9)