November 5, 2021

Another Weather Delay for Crew-3 Launch (Source: Florida Today)
The four astronauts slated to launch on NASA and SpaceX's next mission from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport to the International Space Station will have to wait a few more days for their turn. The astronauts are now slated to fly in a Crew Dragon capsule no earlier than 9:51 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8. The new window for this mission labeled Crew-3 is tentative and depends on several factors still being worked out.

Teams had been targeting late Saturday, but weekend weather forecasts put together by the Space Force showed less-than-favorable downrange conditions for Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon. Weather appear to be more favorable for a Monday night launch at 80% "go," but conditions along the rocket's flightpath are still listed as "moderate risk." A "minor medical issue" caused another delay earlier this week, but NASA on Thursday said it's "expected to clear before launch." (11/5)

Prince William is Wrong. Space Travel May Save Our Planet (Source: Orlando Sentinel(
After William Shatner’s remarkable and immensely positively received flight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on Oct. 13, a few sourpuss celebrities went against the trend to criticize the 90-year-old Captain Kirk and his new status as the oldest human being in space. Many might dismiss such criticism as potentially coming from so-called celebrities desperate for attention. Less easy to dismiss or ignore are the negative words spoken by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, after the mission.

During an interview with the BBC after Shatner’s flight, William was asked about the current space race and the competition to promote space tourism.  The prince said: “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.” I would remind him that the ideas of repairing this planet and seeking new frontiers are not mutually exclusive.

In fact, our continued exploration of space will pay tremendous dividends when it comes to protecting our planet and providing the clean energy needed for humans to live, work, thrive and survive, a point Shatner himself made: “I would tell the prince, and I hope the prince gets the message, this is a baby step into the idea of getting industry up there…all of those polluting industries…off of Earth.” (11/4)

VP Harris Plans Space Council Meeting on Dec. 1 (Source: Space News)
Vice President Kamala Harris will announce today that she will hold the first meeting of the National Space Council by this administration Dec. 1. A White House official, speaking on background, said that Harris will make the announcement later today during a visit to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where she will also see the first images from the Landsat 9 satellite launched in late September. Harris announced six months ago she would chair the council, but there had been few public updates about the council since then. (11/5)

Astra Plans Megaconstellation (Source: Space News)
Small launch vehicle producer Astra wants to get into the megaconstellation business. The company filed an application with the FCC Thursday for a constellation of 13,620 satellites that would provide broadband services in V-band. The company said it would start with a single plane of 40 satellites in equatorial orbit to test the system, then scale it up in two later phases for global coverage. The filing, made in time to meet an FCC deadline for the latest round of V-band applications, comes as the company prepares to make its next attempt to reach orbit with its Rocket 3.3. vehicle next week. (11/5)

China Launches Earth Science Satellite (Source: Xinhua)
China launched a small Earth science satellite Thursday night. A Long March 6 rocket lifted off at 10:19 p.m. Eastern from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, placing into orbit the SDGSAT-1. The satellite, built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is intended to collect data in support of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (11/5)

China Plans Mars Sample Return (Source: Space News)
China is planning a Mars sample return effort late this decade involving two spacecraft. The concept, presented at a forum last month, would start with the Long March 3B launch of a lander and ascent vehicle. That spacecraft would land on Mars, collect samples and place them into orbit. An orbiter and return capsule, launched separately on a Long March 5, would grab the samples and return them to Earth. That mission could launch as soon as 2028 and return the samples in 2030, beating the ongoing NASA/ESA effort that envisions returning samples no earlier than 2031. (11/5)

Schenewerk to Chair Spaceflight Federation (Source: CSF)
The Commercial Spaceflight Federation has selected a new chair of its board of directors. The industry group said Thursday that Caryn Schenewerk, vice president for government affairs at Relativity Space, will be the new chair of the board, succeeding Audrey Powers of Blue Origin. Mark Mozena of Planet will be vice chair and Mike Gold of Redwire will be treasurer. The organization, founded 15 years ago with 10 members, now has 90 member companies and organizations. (11/5)

Russia May Launch Belarus Cosmonaut to ISS (Source: TASS)
Russia is considering flying a cosmonaut from Belarus on the ISS. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia is ready to accept a proposal by Belarus to fly a cosmonaut on a future ISS mission. Putin didn't give a date for such a mission other than the "near future." (11/5)

iRocket And Turion Space Ink Agreement for 10 Launches (Source: Space Daily)
On November 4, 2021, iRocket announced that the company signed an agreement with Turion Space Corp in Irvine, CA. Said iRocket CEO Asad Malik, "We are excited about this new partnership with Turion Space to provide rapid access to space and cost competitive launch costs for their 20 Droid satellites and the low-cost final orbit delivery option their Droid satellites will bring to some of our own customers."

iRocket is a New York startup building 100% fully reusable rockets since 2018 to cargo micro, nano, cube, and constellations to LEO orbit on its Shockwave launch vehicle. The company develops cost-effective launch vehicles that can support rapid launching within 24 hrs. for 400kg and 1500 kg payloads for satellite constellation providers for National security satellites, 5G internet constellations, the Internet of Things (IoT), Biotech Research, and Space exploration.

In addition, their reusable upper stage will target space junk removal in LEO orbit. iRocket is currently funded by the U.S. Space Force - Space Systems Command, The M&J Engineering Group, and Village Global a venture capital firm backed by Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Jeffrey Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Abby Johnson. (11/5)

CADRE of Mini Rovers Navigate Simulated Lunar Terrain (Source: Space Daily)
A team of shoebox-sized rover scouts was recently put to the test at a NASA Glenn Research Center lab. The facility, called the Simulated Lunar Operations lab (or SLOPE) is designed to mimic lunar and planetary surface operations. The mini rovers traversed simulated lunar soil - called regolith - to better understand the types of challenges that lunar rovers of this size will face on the Moon's surface. The results of the tests will be used to characterize small rover performance and improve the rovers' mobility design. (11/5)

NASA Could Return Astronauts on Space Station Before Replacements Arrive (Source: Space Daily)
Four astronauts could leave the International Space Station on Sunday without their replacement team having arrived to take over, NASA announced Thursday, but the timing remains uncertain due to weather conditions.

The four members of the Crew-2 mission, including a French and a Japanese astronaut, are due to return to Earth this month after spending about six months on board the ISS. Normally they would have to wait for four other astronauts -- three Americans and a German from the Crew-3 mission -- to arrive aboard the space station to take their place. (11/4)

NASA Statement on Artemis Lunar Lander Court Decision (Source: Space Daily)
NASA was notified Thursday that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied Blue Origin's bid protest, upholding NASA's selection of SpaceX to develop and demonstrate a modern human lunar lander. NASA will resume work with SpaceX under the Option A contract as soon as possible. In addition to this contract, NASA continues working with multiple American companies to bolster competition and commercial readiness for crewed transportation to the lunar surface.

There will be forthcoming opportunities for companies to partner with NASA in establishing a long-term human presence at the Moon under the agency's Artemis program, including a call in 2022 to U.S. industry for recurring crewed lunar landing services. (11/5)

Next Generation Very Large Array strongly endorsed by Decadal Survey (Source: Space Daily)
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2020) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences has published its report and the Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) received high priority for new ground-based observatories to be constructed during the coming decade. The report, in which ngVLA shared second ranking among ground-based projects, was the culmination of a lengthy process aimed at developing a comprehensive research strategy and vision for a decade of transformative science at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics.

The ngVLA is a system of 263 dish antennas spread across the entire extent of North America and concentrated in the U.S. Southwest that will provide dramatic new scientific capabilities to the world's astronomers. The Astro2020 report led the ground-based facility list with the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Project (US-ELT), a plan for two large optical telescopes - the Thirty Meter Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope, both under different stages of construction. After US-ELT, equal priority was given for development and construction for the ngVLA and the Cosmic Microwave Background Stage-4 experiment (CMB-S4). (11/5)