November 20, 2021

China Launches Remote Sensing Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a new satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi on Saturday. The satellite, Gaofen-11 03, was launched by a Long March-4B rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite will be mainly used for land surveys, city planning, land rights confirmation, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation. (11/20)

French Satellite Startup Kinéis Gets Regulatory Nod for U.S. Expansion (Source: Space News)
French startup Kinéis secured regulatory approval Nov. 18 to connect internet of things devices in the United States to its planned nanosatellite constellation. The permission from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to provide services in the country marks a key milestone for Kinéis, which raised about $110 million last year to deploy 25 satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) in 2023.

The satellites, which Rocket Lab has been contracted to launch, will replace a system of seven payloads hosted aboard U.S. and European weather satellies and one experimental cubesat that has been generating revenue for Kinéis. The legacy system, called Argos and established as a French-U.S. undertaking involving NASA, NOAA and the French space agency CNES, collects humidity, sea level and other one-way data points from maritime beacons. (11/19)

Astra’s Rocket 3.3 Reaches Orbit on Fourth Attempt (Source: Space News)
Astra Space’s Rocket 3.3 successfully reached orbit on a Nov. 20 launch, the fourth orbital launch attempt by the small launch vehicle startup. The Rocket 3.3 vehicle, with the serial number LV0007, lifted off at 1:16 a.m. Eastern from Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska on Kodiak Island. Astra scrubbed a launch attempt the previous day after more than two hours of delays.

The launch carried a payload for the Space Test Program called STP-27AD2 through a contract arranged by the U.S. Space Force through the Defense Innovation Unit. The payload, designed to measure environmental conditions on the vehicle in flight, intentionally did not separate from the upper stage. (11/20)

NASA Seeks Fission System to Power Exploration on the Moon’s Surface and Beyond (Source: NASA)
Exploration of the Moon and Mars requires the power of human imagination and vision. It also takes the power of electricity to bring science and technology to life when astronauts land and stay on the surface. NASA has plans for a robust presence on the Moon under Artemis and eventually Mars, including the development of a fission surface power system for safe, efficient, and reliable electrical power.

Fission surface power – in conjunction with solar cells, batteries, and fuel cells – can provide the power to operate rovers, conduct experiments, and use the Moon’s resources to produce water, propellant, and other supplies for life support. NASA, in coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE), is asking American companies for design concepts for a fission surface power system that could be ready to launch within a decade for a demonstration on the Moon. The system should be capable of autonomous operation from the deck of a lunar lander or a lunar surface rover. (11/19)

Washington State University Conquers Lunar Dust with BIG Idea Dust Mitigation Concept (Source: NASA)
Dust on Earth creates a nuisance in our homes and causes a few allergic sneezes. It might seem benign, but mitigating Earth’s dust has been the focus of extensive terrestrial engineering with applications from mining to food to cosmetics. NASA’s 2021 Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge tasked teams of college students to develop novel dust mitigation (or dust tolerant) concepts to aid NASA in engineering technologies that could be used for crewed or uncrewed Moon exploration applications.

On Nov. 18, at the 2021 BIG Idea Virtual Forum, Washington State University with “Leidenfrost dusting as a novel tool for lunar dust mitigation,” advised by Jacob Leachman, scored highest across evaluation criteria among the seven finalist teams to take the top honor. Washington State University's concept uses a liquid cryogen spray bar and a handheld sprayer to clean dust from spacesuits. The team proposed a spray bar that uses cryogenic liquid droplets to lift and transport lunar dust from spacesuit materials. (11/19)

Webb Telescope is About to Take an Unprecedented Look at These Intriguing Exoplanets (Source: CNN)
When the James Webb Space Telescope launches in December, astronomers around the world are expecting to find the unexpected, said Sara Seager, astrophysicist and planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Telescope time has been granted to a number of proposals by astronomers who want to observe an intriguing range of exoplanets.

Some of these could share similar characteristics with planets we recognize in our own cosmological backyard, while others couldn't be more opposite. Webb was not designed to find signs of life on other planets, but it can shed light on the mysteries of planetary evolution, as well as their atmospheres and what chemistry exists within them. Click here. (11/20)

Investors' Bet Values Sierra Space at $4.5 Billion (Source: Bloomberg)
General Atlantic and Coatue Management led a $1.4 billion investment in Sierra Space, valuing the Sierra Nevada Corp. subsidiary at $4.5 billion, its CEO said in an interview. The Colorado-based company will spend proceeds from the funding round on advancing plans for affordable space transportation as well as habitation and manufacturing in orbit, Sierra Space Chief Executive Officer Tom Vice said. Other new investors include Moore Strategic Ventures, BlackRock Private Equity Partners and AE Industrial Partners, he said. Family offices associated with billionaires Stan Druckenmiller and Vincent Viola also participated in the funding round, people with knowledge of the matter said. (11/19)

For 1st Axiom Launch with SpaceX, Civilian Science Plays Into New Space Station Goals (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Axiom Space is gearing up for its first launch in just over three months, in which it has partnered with SpaceX using Crew Dragon from Kennedy Space Center to send civilians to the International Space Station. The paying customers won’t be just enjoying the view. They have a big list of jobs to do, too. Each of the three civilians have arranged experiments and other activities that range from testing human cells that have stopped dividing for the Mayo Clinic to mapping the Great Lakes region for The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Officials with Houston-based Axiom Space say the approach falls in line with their business plan to eventually build their own commercial space station as a replacement for the ISS. The Axiom crew — Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe — paid Axiom $55 million each for the trip.

Axiom has plans to send up a private module to connect to the International Space Station as early as 2024, and in time to send up several before eventually disconnecting from the ISS and becoming part of its own privately run space station. The goal of that space station is to cater to customers who seek out not just space tourism, but meaningful use of low-Earth orbit opportunities, Maender said. (11/17)

Canada and Ukraine Start Construction of Spaceport in Nova Scotia (Source: Ukrinform)
An official ceremony was held in Canada to mark the start of the construction of a joint Ukrainian-Canadian spaceport in the east of the country.
"On November 18, in Halifax, the space agencies of Ukraine and Canada signed a joint statement of partnership, and on November 19, a solemn ceremony of laying a ‘cornerstone’ of the Ukrainian-Canadian space launch complex was held," the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada reported. (11/20)

Proposed Nova Scotia Spaceport Announces Deal with NanoRacks for Payload Aboard Ukrainian Cyclone-4M Rocket (Source: Toronto Star)
The company behind the push to build Canada’s first commercial spaceport, to be located on the tip of northeastern Nova Scotia, announced on Friday the first payload client for its initial rocket launch, which it expects near the end of 2023. Stephen Matier, president and CEO of Maritime Launch Services, told reporters in Halifax that Nanoracks, a leading commercial payload provider to the International Space Station, will use the spaceport to deploy small satellites for its customers.

Matier also announced that his company had signed a letter of intent to launch small satellites for Nova Scotia-based GALAXIA Mission Systems. As well, he revealed preliminary designs for a launch control centre to be built at the spaceport site near Canso, N.S., complete with a visitor and educational center. Matier said the first payload will be launched aboard a Ukrainian-built Cyclone-4M rocket. (11/19)

Why Does Bernie Sanders Think Billionaires Should Get Out of Space? (Source: Reason)
In his 1982 high school graduation speech, Amazon founder and Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos regaled the audience with his pie-in-the-sky aspirations of building space hotels, amusement parks, and yachts to populate extraterrestrial colonies. Merely four decades later, he hasn't quite achieved his lofty goal, but he launched himself (and friends) into space via his self-funded space company—something that hadn't seemed possible for pretty much the entirety of human existence, up until a mad-dash billionaire traffic jam earlier this year.

"Frankly, it is not acceptable…that the two wealthiest people in this country, Mr. [Elon] Musk and Mr. Bezos, take control of our space efforts to return to the moon," said Senator Bernie Sanders in a Senate floor speech criticizing components of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, which might include a $10 billion government contract awarded to Blue Origin. "This is not something for two billionaires to be directing; this is something for the American people to be determining." (11/19)

Visualizations Show the Extensive Cloud of Debris Russia’s ASAT Test Created (Source: The Verge)
Satellite trackers have been working overtime to figure out just how much dangerous debris Russia created when it destroyed one of its own satellites early Monday — and the picture they’ve painted looks bleak. Multiple visual simulations of Russia’s anti-satellite, or ASAT, test show a widespread cloud of debris that will likely menace other objects in orbit for years. Click here. (11/19)

Japan, Australia Condemn Russia ASAT Test (Source: Space News)
Japan and Australia have joined international condemnation of Russia for testing an anti-satellite weapon Nov. 15 that created over 1,500 pieces of debris in low Earth orbit. In a Nov. 18 statement, Japan’s foreign ministry called the test “an irresponsible behavior that undermines sustainable and stable use of outer space.” The ministry said the test also “runs counter to the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines” adopted unanimously by the member states of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), including Russia, in 2007. (11/19)

ESA Ministers Approve Strategy to Work on Terrestrial and Space Safety Issues (Source: Space News)
The member states of the European Space Agency have endorsed a strategy to support work on terrestrial and space safety issues while also planning for future space exploration projects. A resolution approved by ESA’s Council of Ministers at its Intermediate Ministerial Meeting Nov. 19 backed a plan, published by the agency in October, for working on three “accelerators” in climate, crisis response and protection of space assets, as well as two “inspirators” in human spaceflight and planetary exploration. (11/19)

NASA Mission to Nudge Satellite Awaiting Ride to Space from Vandenberg SFB (Source: Noozhawk)
Sounding like a science fiction plot, NASA's next mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base will aim to nudge — at 15,000 mph — an asteroid off its flight path in a test of a technology to defend planet Earth. A SpaceX Falcon rocket will carry the NASA spacecraft into orbit after a liftoff from Space Launch Complex-4 on the South Base at 10:21 p.m. Tuesday. The mission has an instaneous window or just one chance a day to get off the ground for its proper placement in space.

That spacecraft, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, will explore whether intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid can change its course in a $330 million mission. DART’s target is an asteroid moonlet called Dimorphos — Greek for “two forms.” Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos, or twin. (11/19)

NASA Considers Innovative Business Model for $500 Million Earth Science Campaign (Source: Space News)
NASA JPL is soliciting information on how private sector innovation could help make the most out of a $500 million budget to obtain data on Earth’s changing surface. JPL issued a Request For Information seeking “industry feedback on whether a commercial purchase, a public-private partnership, or other arrangement between the U.S. space industry and NASA could provide the scientific community with substantially the same capabilities as multiple NISARs.” NISAR is the NASA-Indian Space Research Organization Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite scheduled to launch in 2023. (11/19)

House Passes Infrastructure Bill with $1.115 Billion for NASA (Source: Space Policy Online)
The House finally passed the second bill to address President Biden’s infrastructure agenda. This “human infrastructure” bill has $1.115 billion for NASA, far less than what NASA Administrator Bill Nelson once hoped for, but would be a significant boost for the agency on top of its regular appropriations nonetheless. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

After a bitter battle not only between Democrats and Republicans but within the Democratic party itself, the bill, H.R. 5376, passed this morning 220-213. The vote on the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) came after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) waged a filibuster-like delay, speaking on the floor of the House for 8 hours and 32 minutes starting at 8:38 pm ET last night and ending at 5:10 am ET this morning. (11/19)

Congressmen Challenge NTSB Role for Spaceflight Accident Investigations (Source: Space Policy Online)
The top two House Republicans who oversee commercial space activities are challenging a new action by the National Transportation Safety Board to exert more authority in investigating commercial space accidents. In a letter to the NTSB they asked for more information and Rep. Brian Babin introduced a resolution stating that commercial space launch is a developmental activity, not a mode of transportation.

In the letter to NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy, Babin and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) said the Board’s “attempts to expand its authority would alter the long-standing commercial space accident investigation process and significantly impact the commercial space launch industry, U.S. economic competitiveness, scientific discovery, space exploration, international cooperation, national security, and safety.” (11/19)