November 18, 2021

Space Club Hosts Astra for Launch Pad Discussion at December 14 Luncheon (Source: NSCFL)
The National Space Club Florida Committee welcomes Francisco Isenberg as the featured guest speaker for a December 14 in-person luncheon event at the Radisson Resort at Port Canaveral. Mr. Isenberg, principal spaceport development manager for launch services startup Astra, will discuss his company's plans for establishing a launch capability at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.

Astra, a publicly traded company based in Alameda, California, is developing a rocket for launching small payloads (up to 630 kilograms) to low Earth orbit. The company is currently managing a test campaign to validate the rocket's performance and refine their launch processing approach at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. The company's plans for a Cape Canaveral launch site include the use of Launch Complex 46, a site managed by Space Florida. Click here for luncheon information. (11/18)

Astra Stock Could Rally With Next Space Launch (Source: Investor Place)
If at first you don’t succeed, you need to try and try again. It seems as though Astra’s (NASDAQ:ASTR) management has taken that lesson to heart. The company’s first attempt did not go so smoothly. The LV0006 craft had its flight terminated after just 2.5 minutes off the ground. The failure was caused after one of the engines was compromised. This resulted in a scary-looking sideways slide that the rocket never recovered from.

Management has analyzed the factors that caused the situation with LV0006. They are confident that they have identified the issues and have a plan to move forward. There was a leakage from the rocket’s propellant supply system. The leaked ingredients ignited, causing one of the engines to stall. According to the company’s press release, they are implementing the following design changes to its next craft, the LV0007. Management has indicated that it plans to launch very soon and is subject to ideal launch conditions.

I consider the move from the low of $8.45 a “mini-uptrend.” Therefore in my view, ASTR stock recently had a strong candle breakout to $10.60. The key level to watch is the stock’s 200-day moving average of $11.20. Since the stock is still trading below this key level, I expect a lot of volatility in the near future. A successful launch of the LV0007 could provide the catalyst for a large pushup. A breakout of the 200-day moving average would constitute a shift in momentum in the stock. (11/18)

Confirmed: Astra to Launch From LC-46 at Cape Canaveral Spaceport (Source: Space Explored)
A new permit application confirms rumors of Astra launching from Launch Complex 46 as soon as late 2021 or early 2022. The previous launch from SLC-46 was the Orion Ascent Abort 2 test for the Artemis program. Astra currently plans on launching from LC-46 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport as often as 12 times a year for two years – a monthly launch cadence. Sources informed us that Astra was looking at launching from LC-46, with testing occurring as soon as December 2021, and we now have public confirmation of this.

SLC-46 is located at the tip of Cape Canaveral, just south of Blue Origin’s SLC-36. Previously this pad supported the ground-based launches of Trident and Trident II missiles, along with Lockheed Martin’s Athena I and II vehicles. The pad is operated by Space Florida and is available for launch providers to lease. With Astra’s next launch window opening on November 18, we will wait and see if Astra can finally make orbit. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a slip in the timeline for Astra’s debut in Florida should this next launch not go well. Nevertheless, we are excited to see yet another launch provider making its way to the space coast! (11/18)

Russia, Kazakhstan, UAE Plan to Modernize Baikonur's Gagarin Launch Complex for Soyuz-2 Rockets (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Roscosmos, the UAE Space Agency, and the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed a joint Letter of Intent confirming the interest of the parties to implement space projects in trilateral format. In particular, the document states the mutual intention to shortly start a detailed analysis of the tripartite project to modernize the historical Site 1 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome, from which the first human spaceflight took place.

Currently, this launch complex is not used due to the decommissioning of the Soyuz-FG carrier rocket in 2019, with the last rocket of the type launched in late September 2019. If successfully implemented, the Gagarin’s Start project will revive the complex, allowing it to accept modern modifications of the Soyuz-2 launch vehicles. The parties plan to involve private investors into the project and to continue further joint commercial operation of the complex. According to experts, the project will enable the parties to present competitive offers on the international space launches market. (11/18)

Launch of the Proton Rocket From Baikonur Postponed for Upper Stage Issue (Source: TASS)
The launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the Express-AMU3 and Express-AMU7 telecommunication satellites has been postponed from December 6 to December 12. According to the head of Roscosmos, the launch was postponed due to the need to finalize the upper stage. In December last year, Rogozin said that the launch of satellites was postponed to the end of 2021. In mid-November, Roskosmos announced plans to launch them on December 6. (11/18)

Are We About to Find Life on Venus? (Source: Daily Beast)
Phosphine has been at the center of a passionate debate among scientists concerned with life: what it is, what it needs to survive, and where it could be located elsewhere in the universe. On one side are are scientists and their supporters who, a year ago, claimed they had detected signs of phosphine in the practically unlivable atmosphere of Venus. These researchers set off the alarms that perhaps we have discovered signs of extraterrestrial life on another world. On the other side are critics who have credibly questioned the science behind the original phosphine claim.

Between the two camps is a powerful mediator: NASA’s top scientist, who recently penned a paper to address the increasingly heated argument over its possible presence on Venus, and to urge scientists searching for alien life to be a little more careful. Now a new group of scientists—including some members of the team that first posited phosphine on Venus—is stepping back, taking a deep breath and trying to make sense of what they describe as an important and ongoing argument. “One year after the original announcement, the tentative discovery of PH3 in the clouds of Venus continues to bring much interest and controversy,” they wrote.

“People might think that the Venus phosphine story is over, that the discovery is debunked or that it is wrong, that the signal is not there,” Janusz Petkowski, an expert in so-called “biosignature gases” at MIT and a co-author of both the original phosphine paper and the latest one, told The Daily Beast. “That is not the case,” Petkowski added. “The Venusian phosphine story is very much alive and a topic of an intense scientific debate.” (11/18)

‘This is Urgent’: Bipartisan Proposal for UFO Office Pushes New Boundaries (Source: Politico)
A bipartisan proposal to create a more expansive military and intelligence program to study UFOs is urgently needed to determine whether unexplained sightings by Navy and Air Force pilots pose a threat or are evidence of some “other entity,” the lead sponsor said Wednesday. “If it is technology possessed by adversaries or any other entity, we need to know,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in her first interview about the effort. “Burying our heads in the sand is neither a strategy nor an acceptable approach.”

Gillibrand is behind an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that is being debated this week to create an ‘‘Anomaly Surveillance and Resolution Office” with authority to pursue “any resource, capability, asset, or process of the Department and the intelligence community” to get to the bottom of the sightings of “unidentified aerial phenomena," or UAPs. It would also require regular public reports about sensitive topics that until recently were considered to be on the fringe, including whether the government has any materials from the incidents of UFOs or data on any biological or health effects linked to any encounters. (11/17)

Space Coast Re-Launch (Source: Quartz)
Florida's Space Coast is making a [another] comeback thanks to a flurry of launch activity from private space companies. The most prominent entrant is SpaceX, which leased the launchpad used in the Apollo 11 mission from NASA in 2014. Other industry stalwarts like Blue Origin and ULA have also leased nearby pads, as have startups like Firefly and Relativity. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and the satellite internet company OneWeb have clustered rocket and satellite factories nearby. This year alone, the Space Coast has already seen 37 launches.

Private industry has been attracted to the Space Coast for many of the same reasons NASA was back in the 1950s. After decades of government investment in the site, it has a level of existing launch infrastructure and a specialized local workforce that would be expensive and time consuming to recreate elsewhere. The return of space flight has sparked a renaissance in Brevard County. Developers are building new homes and businesses at a rapid clip. Houses have recovered their pre-financial crisis values and taxable sales have nearly doubled. The local unemployment rate is now below 4%, despite the pandemic recession.

Rocket launch tourism helped bail the county out after Covid-19 outbreaks dried up cruise ship revenue; when SpaceX launched its first manned mission in May 2020, the Space Coast Office of Tourism estimated that 220,000 visitors came and spent $44 million. The Space Coast has hitched its fortunes to its new private partners, which carries its own risks. Some of the scores of businesses that have set up shop in Brevard County will surely fail, and it remains to be seen whether a couple of consolidating winners will be able to establish a sustainable revenue model in the long run. But for now, investment is flowing freely, dozens of companies are building and testing rockets, and the ground beneath Brevard County. (11/18)

Maiden Flight of RFA ONE to Launch Lunar Research Mission (Source: RFA)
Lunar Research Service (LRS) and Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) have agreed on a launch service contract. RFA will fly a research mission of Ukraine-based LRS with its RFA ONE micro launcher into low-Earth orbit. The flight, which will take place end of 2022 from Andøya, Norway, will be the maiden flight of the German-developed launch vehicle.

Lunar Research Service will use the results of the mission to improve its ground-orbit communications and test a solar concentrator that will be used in the upcoming lunar mission. Among the features of the mission are proprietary satellite design and a developed in-house deployment system. (11/18)

Space Force: ASAT Test a Sign Russia Plans Space Weapons (Source: Space News)
Space Force officials say Russia's ASAT test sends an ominous message that Russia is intent on advancing its arsenal of space weapons. Lt. Gen. John Shaw, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command, said Wednesday that Monday's test was the latest in a series by Russia, although the first to intercept a satellite. The test, which created more than 1,500 pieces of debris, indicates Russia is "continuing to show a disregard for the sustainability of space," he said, predicting the debris cloud will grow over time and pose a hazard for all spacefaring nations for years. (11/18)

South Korea Expresses ASAT Concern, China Silent (Source: Space News)
While South Korea expressed concern about the ASAT test, China has remained quiet. South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday it was concerned about the test, but did not explicitly mention or criticize Russia. China has yet to make an official statement on the issue. A foreign ministry spokesman said earlier this week that it was "too early" for China to respond. (11/18)

Musk: Orbital Starship Mission Possible Early Next Year (Source: Space News)
Elon Musk says the first orbital Starship launch could take place early next year, pending regulatory approval. Speaking to two National Academies committees Wednesday, Musk said SpaceX was projecting the launch to take place in January or February. He cautioned that there is a "lot of risk" with that first launch, but expected the company to perform a test program of up to 12 Starship launches in 2022 that would enable commercial flights to begin in 2023. That schedule depends on getting an FAA license, which in turn requires the completion of an environmental review currently projected for the end of this year. (11/18)

Arianespace to Launch Aussie Comsat on Ariane 6 (Source: Space News)
Arianespace has won a contract to launch an Australian communications satellite. The Optus-11 Ku-band communications satellite is set to launch in the second half of 2023 on an Ariane 6 to provide services to the Australia and New Zealand region. The Ariane 6 is officially set to make its debut in the second quarter of 2022, but an ArianeGroup executive said at a conference this week that they're working toward a launch in late 2022. (11/18)

Rocket Lab Launches BlackSky Satellites From New Zealand, Tests First Stage Recovery (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab launched a pair of BlackSky imaging satellites Wednesday. An Electron rocket lifted off at 8:38 p.m. Eastern and deployed the two BlackSky Gen-2 satellites into low Earth orbit about an hour later. Rocket Lab used this launch as another test of efforts to recover and reuse the Electron's first stage, this time monitored by a helicopter. The next Electron launch, also carrying two BlackSky satellites, is scheduled for December. (11/18)

Virgin Orbit Expects Substantial Government Launch Business (Source: Space News)
Virgin Orbit predicts as much as 40% of its business will come from national security customers in five years. The company has already won a handful of contracts to launch U.S. military satellites and is actively pursuing new business in the national security market, executives said at an investor day event Wednesday. CEO Dan Hart said Virgin Orbit has been pushing the U.S. government to increase budgets for responsive launch services. The company is planning six launches next year and is considering buying a second carrier aircraft. (11/18)

Intuitive Machines to Deliver Four NASA Lunar Payloads on Lander (Source: Space News)
NASA selected Intuitive Machines to deliver four payloads to the lunar surface in 2024. The IM-3 lander will carry payloads ranging from small rovers to a laser retroreflector, landing in the Reiner Gamma region of the moon. Intuitive Machines has won three of the seven Commercial Lunar Payload Services task orders awarded to date. The first two Intuitive Machines missions, along with one by Astrobotic, are all scheduled for launch next year. (11/18)

DoD's Constellation Will Support Commercial Imagery Transfer (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) will allow commercial satellite imagery providers to transfer data through its upcoming constellation. Under a recent deal signed with SDA, Capella Space will attempt to connect one of the company's imaging satellites to SDA's network of satellites in low Earth orbit. SDA Director Derek Tournear said doing so benefits both companies and the military, since it would allow companies to quickly transmit images to military users. Imagery providers will have to install SDA-approved optical inter-satellite links on their satellites. The data would be passed to SDA's Transport Layer, a mesh network of communications satellites that will start deployment next year. (11/18)

Europe Hopes Network of Local Spaceports Will Support Spaceflight Needs (Source: Space News)
European small launch companies are looking to European commercial spaceports to be established rather than shipping rockets farther afield. Panelists at a conference this week said geography has a part to play in the push for European spaceports because, with sensitive equipment, transit is an issue in terms of intellectual property, red tape and time, as well as potential damage. New launch infrastructure also brings aspects of sovereignty and independence to the European value chain. Several launch sites are being developed in Europe that will be ready to support flights as soon as next year. (11/18)

Spaceport America to Seek $2 Million Budget Boost From New Mexico Legislature (Source: Las Cruces Sun-News)
New Mexico's Spaceport America is seeking more state funding. Spaceport officials told legislators they're seeking an additional $2 million next year to cover operating expenses of the commercial launch site. Without the increase, spaceport leaders warned, they would be forced to cut staffing and curtail operations. About 60% of the overall budget for the spaceport comes from customers. (11/18)

Branson Sells More Virgin Galactic Stock (Source: Bloomberg)
Richard Branson has sold an additional $300 million in Virgin Galactic stock. Branson sold about 6% of overall Virgin Galactic shares, leaving him with a 11.9% stake. Virgin Galactic said the proceeds of the sale would go to other Virgin travel and leisure businesses. Branson remains the single largest shareholder of the space tourism company. (11/18)

SpaceX Expects Five More Falcon-9 Launches Before 2022 (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
After a lull in launches, SpaceX will be busy for the rest of the year. The company performed two Falcon 9 launches last week, the first since September. At least five more Falcon 9 launches are scheduled through the end of the year, including two NASA satellites, a space station cargo mission, a set of Starlink satellites and a commercial GEO communications satellite. SpaceX has performed 25 Falcon 9 launches so far this year, one short of its record set in 2020. (11/18)

Rubins Joins Army Reserve (Source: Army Times)
A NASA astronaut is joining the U.S. Army Reserve. Kate Rubins was sworn in earlier this month into the Army Reserve at the rank of major. A veteran of two long-duration ISS missions, Rubins said she decided to join the Army Reserve after doing medical volunteer work during the pandemic. She said she hoped to refine her leadership skills in the Army Reserve. (11/18)

Not Everyone Buys SpinLaunch’s Claims (Source: Parabolic Arc)
SpinLaunch says they're moving closer to an orbital launch capability for their kinetic spin-and-release centrifuge launch system with a successful "Suborbital Accelerator" test launch on 22 October at Spaceport America.  is designed to operate from 800 to 5,000 mph and acts primarily as a test-bed for the Orbital Launch System. Throughout 2022 the startup plans to conduct regular test flights with a variety of vehicles and launch velocities. They say the Suborbital System also offers testing capabilities for satellite qualification. But SpinLaunch’s plan and recent test have generated skepticism too. Click here. (11/18)

Isotropic Systems Joins UK Government and ESA Consortium Led by CGI to Develop Hybrid Satellite Communications for Trains (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Isotropic Systems has joined the consortium led by CGI, which has been selected by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the UK Space Agency, and the European Space Agency (ESA), to develop a demonstration of a hybrid satellite communications and terrestrial network for use on trains. The project is part of a joint initiative in the UK to demonstrate the integrated use of 5G in the area of transport and logistics. (11/18)

Kepler Communications, Through Germany, Registers 114,852-Satellite S-band LEO Constellation (Source: Space Intel Report)
Canada-based Kepler Communications has registered with international regulators a constellation of 114,582 S-band satellites in 1,152 different orbits between 200 and 1,000 kilometers in altitude. The constellation, called Aether-C, is part of Kepler’s ambitious plan to offer orbital connectivity services to other satellite operators. A separate constellation, called Aether-K, is comprised of 332 satellites in 12 orbital planes in a 600-kilometer orbit to provide radio-frequency-based inter-satellite links for real-time data relay. (11/17)

Four Russian Cosmonauts Selected to Prepare for Flights on Crew Dragon (Source: Interfax)
The Cosmonaut Training Center (CPC) has selected four candidates to prepare for flights on the American spacecraft Crew Dragon, the head of the Center Maxim Kharlamov told Interfax. "These are four people, the main crew member of the USCV-5 and his backup, and the main (crew member - IF) and his backup USCV-6," Kharlamov said. According to him, in the near future the candidates should be submitted to the state commission for approval. (11/17)

Cosmic Shielding Corp. Develops Printable Polymer for Radiation Shielding (Source: Spaced Ventures)
Cosmic Shielding is building a better frontier by conquering the harsh environment of space. Their state of the art solution is built from decades of radiation physics research and experiments overseen by NASA. Not to mention built by a team of world-leading nuclear & helio physicists. CSC’s advanced multifunctional shielding composite is based off of its revolutionary and patented Multifunctional Shielding Polymer (MSP) - a highly versatile polymer that allows the company to 3D print shielding solutions to virtually any form factor and application. Due to its unique fiber structure, CSC’s MSP can be printed to remain flexible for use in space suits, or modified for rigidity for use in component capsules and structural elements. (11/17)

NASA Receives 11th Consecutive Clean Financial Audit Opinion (Source: Space Daily)
For the 11th straight year, NASA has received an unmodified, or "clean," opinion from an external auditor on its fiscal year 2021 financial statements. The rating is the best possible audit opinion, certifying that NASA's financial statements conform with accepted accounting principles for federal agencies and accurately present the agency's financial position. (11/16)

Astroscale and Virgin Orbit Partner on Orbital Servicing (Source: HobbySpace)
Astroscale has signed an agreement with Virgin Orbit to cooperate on a series of space initiatives that will drive the future of space sustainability and on-orbit servicing ecosystem. Astroscale is planning dozens of missions over the next decade and is in discussions with Virgin Orbit to launch as many as 10 of those on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne. The two companies are also working toward a future joint mission concept focused on satellite servicing. (11/17)

Space Force Wants to Clean Up Junk in Orbit (Source: WIRED)
Finding ways to address this growing halo of space junk, before some orbits, relied upon by satellite companies and space agencies, become so polluted that they’re no longer usable, has now become a major goal of the US government as well as international institutions. To actively tackle the problem, the Space Force’s technology arm, known as SpaceWERX, will begin recruiting the private sector to develop proposals for actually removing debris via a new program called Orbital Prime.

SpaceWERX will initially award dozens of contracts worth $250,000 each, likely starting early next year, to companies that have the ability to whisk trash out of harm’s way, as well as to perform other duties like refueling and repairing orbiting spacecraft to prevent them from becoming derelict. At first, the Space Force will be assessing the range of technologies currently available, says Lieutenant Colonel Brian Holt, the lead for Orbital Prime. “​​If the government, and specifically SpaceWERX, could prime the pump, where could we get the biggest economic bang, with economic prosperity and national security?” asks Holt.

Four months after the initial contracts, the second phase will begin, involving contracts worth $1.5 million each. Phase two will be followed by the deployment of technologies into orbit, in 2023 or 2024. For now, the companies eligible to compete must be based in the US and partnered with researchers at a university or federally-funded research institution. The program’s goal is to “move an entire market area forward,” Holt says. (11/17)

Space Cyber Wargame Exposes Satellite Industry Risks (Source: README)
Space industry executives grappled with a simulated crisis Monday as a hacker compromised a satellite and set it on a collision course with another, creating the possibility of a disastrous cascade of space debris. The collision was averted — but the fictional scenario underscored the very real cybersecurity threats facing the space industry as the number of companies building and operating software-driven satellites has mushroomed.

A new cyber threat information sharing group hosted the virtual tabletop exercise to educate attendees at a space technology conference about the importance of industry-wide collaboration to combat cyberattacks. The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space-ISAC) said the results of the event — which played out at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ ASCEND space technology conference — will shape how the group builds its 24-hour watch center slated to open next year. (11/17)

NASA Astronaut to be First Black Woman to Join ISS Crew (Source: Times of India)
Two decades after the International Space Station became humnity's long-lasting home in orbit, Jessica Watkins, a NASA astronaut, is poised to become the first black woman to join its crew for a long-term mission. NASA on Tuesday assigned Watkins, a geologist raised in Lafayette, Colorado, to serve as a mission specialist. She will fly to the ISS in April on SpaceX's "Crew-4" commercial crew mission and spend six months aboard the ISS. (11/17)