December 13, 2021

With Further Delays to BE-4 Rocket Engine, Vulcan May Not Make 2022 Debut (Source: Ars Technica)
Blue Origin is unlikely to deliver two flight-ready versions of the BE-4 rocket engine to United Launch Alliance (ULA) before at least the second quarter of 2022, two sources say. This increases the possibility that the debut flight of ULA's much-anticipated new rocket, Vulcan, could slip into 2023. Vulcan's first stage is powered by two BE-4 engines, which burn methane and are more powerful than the space shuttle's main engines. The sources said there recently was a "relatively small" production issue with fabrication of the flight engines at Blue Origin's factory in Kent, Washington.

As a result of this, the engines will not be completed and shipped to the company's test stands in West Texas until next year. Once there, each engine must be unpacked, tested, and then re-configured to be moved to ULA's rocket assembly facility in northern Alabama. A reasonable "no-earlier-than" date for the engines' arrival at the rocket manufacturer is now April 2022, and this assumes a smooth final production and testing phase. There is a lot riding on this rocket and its timely debut, which will replace both the Atlas and Delta rockets that ULA has flown.

The US military is counting on Vulcan to lift about 60 percent of the nation's national security payloads into space from 2022 to 2027. Due to delays in development—at one point, Vulcan rocket was expected to debut in 2020—the US Space Force and ULA have already agreed to move the first military mission assigned to Vulcan, designated USSF-51, onto an Atlas 5 rocket. However, ULA has since said that all of its remaining Atlas rockets, which are being phased out due to reliance on the Russian-built RD-180 engine, are allocated to other missions. It is not clear, therefore, that other military missions can be moved off of Vulcan and onto an Atlas. (12/13)

Parsons Wins DARPA Contract for Blackjack Satellite Support (Source: Space News)
Parsons won a DARPA contract to develop a ground operations center for Blackjack satellites. The $10.8 million contract, announced Friday, is for the Blackjack Prototype Ground Operations Center that will operate DARPA's Blackjack satellite constellation. Parsons has to complete the ground operations center prototype by June 2024. (12/13)

Iran Readies for Next Satellite Launch? (Source: AP)
Iran appears to be gearing up for another satellite launch attempt. Satellite photos taken Saturday show activity at the country's Imam Khomeini Spaceport consistent with an upcoming launch. Iranian state-run media said earlier this month it was preparing four satellites for launch, including Zafar 2, an imaging satellite described as being in the "final phase of preparation." Zafar 1 was lost in a launch failure in February 2020. (12/13)

Could Malaysia Align With China/Russia Lunar Station? (Soource: The Star)
The Malaysian government is not planning to join the Artemis Accords in the near future. The country's deputy science and technology minister told parliament that Malaysia was not ready yet to consider signing the accords, which outline best practices for sustainable space exploration. The minister added that a Malaysian official attended a closed-door meeting about the International Lunar Research Station, an initiative led by China and Russia, and that officials from the UN, ESA and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization were also there. (12/13)

JSC Rocket Park Named to Honor Abbey (Source: Houston Chronicle)
NASA's Johnson Space Center has named a rocket park there after a former center director. The center formally named the park, which includes a Saturn 5, the George W.S. Abbey Rocket Park in a ceremony Friday. Abbey was an engineer during the Apollo program and later became JSC director form 1996 to 2001. Abbey, 89, attended the ceremony, noting that while he worked on the Apollo program, he never saw a Saturn 5 launch in person since he was working in Houston. (12/10)

Russia Launches Two Communication Satellites (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
A Proton rocket lifted off Monday morning carrying two Russian communications satellites. The Proton launched at 7:07 a.m. Eastern from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Breeze M upper stage will deploy the Express-AMU3 and Express-AMU7 satellites into geostationary transfer orbits about 18 hours after liftoff. The satellites were built by ISS Reshetnev for the Russian Satellite Communications Company to replace two existing satellites. The launch was just the second this year for the Proton, once a workhorse of both the Russian government and commercial satellite industry. (12/13)

Musk is Time's Person of the Year (Source: Time)
Elon Musk is Time magazine's Person of the Year. The magazine selected Musk, the world's wealthiest person, because of his roles at both SpaceX and Tesla. The honor, the magazine said Monday, goes to a person of influence, good or bad, and "few individuals have had more influence than Musk on life on Earth, and potentially life off Earth too." (12/13)

Iron Integral to the Development of Life on Earth - and the Possibility of Life on Other Planets (Source: Space Daily)
Iron is an essential nutrient that almost all life requires to grow and thrive. Iron's importance goes all the way back to the formation of the planet Earth, where the amount of iron in the Earth's rocky mantle was 'set' by the conditions under which the planet formed and went on to have major ramifications for how life developed.

Now, scientists at the University of Oxford have uncovered the likely mechanisms by which iron influenced the development of complex life forms, which can also be used to understand how likely (or unlikely) advanced life forms might be on other planets. "Too little iron in the rocky portion of the planet, like the planet Mercury, and life is unlikely. Too much, like Mars, and water may be difficult to keep on the surface for times relevant to the evolution of complex life." (12/8)

The Uneven Universe (Source: Space Daily)
It is almost always assumed in cosmological calculations that there is a even distribution of matter in the universe. This is because the calculations would be much too complicated if the position of every single star were to be included. In reality, the universe is not uniform: in some places there are stars and planets, in others there is just a void.

Physicists Michael te Vrugt and Prof. Raphael Wittkowski from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Center for Soft Nanoscience (SoN) at the University of Munster (Germany) have, together with physicist Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder from the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS; Germany), developed a new model for this problem. Their starting point was the Mori-Zwanzig formalism, a method for describing systems consisting of a large number of particles with a small number of measurands. (12/6)

Gas Bubbles in Rock Pores - a Nursery for Life on Early Earth (Source: Space Daily)
Where and how did life begin on Early Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago from non-living chemicals? Discovering the answer to this question has long been debated and is a challenge for scientists. One thing that scientists can look for is potential environments that allowed life to spark. A key necessity for the first cells on Earth is the ability to make compartments and evolve to facilitate the first chemical reactions. Membraneless coacervate microdroplets are excellent candidates to describe protocells, with the ability to partition, concentrate molecules and support biochemical reactions.

Scientists have not yet shown how those microdroplets could have evolved to start life on earth. Researchers at LMU's Center for NanoScience (CeNS) and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden now demonstrate for the first time, that the growth and division of membraneless microdroplets is possible in an environment which is similar to gas bubbles within a heated rock pore on Early Earth. Suggesting that life may have had its origin there. (12/8)

Gravitational Waves Should Permanently Distort Space-Time (Source: Quanta)
The first detection of gravitational waves in 2016 provided decisive confirmation of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. But another astounding prediction remains unconfirmed: According to general relativity, every gravitational wave should leave an indelible imprint on the structure of space-time. It should permanently strain space, displacing the mirrors of a gravitational wave detector even after the wave has passed. Since that first detection almost six years ago, physicists have been trying to figure out how to measure this so-called “memory effect.”

“The memory effect is absolutely a strange, strange phenomenon,” said Paul Lasky, an astrophysicist at Monash University in Australia. “It’s really deep stuff.” Their goals are broader than just glimpsing the permanent space-time scars left by a passing gravitational wave. By exploring the links between matter, energy and space-time, physicists hope to come to a better understanding of Stephen Hawking’s black hole information paradox. (12/8)

Gravitational Waves Could be Key to Answering Why More Matter Was Left Over After Big Bang (Source: Space Daily)
A team of theoretical researchers have found it might be possible to detect Q-balls in gravitational waves, and their detection would answer why more matter than anti-matter to be left over after the Big Bang. The reason humans exist is because at some time in the first second of the Universe's existence, somehow more matter was produced than anti-matter. The nature of Q-balls is a bit tricky to understand, but they are bosons like the Higgs boson.

The asymmetry is so small that only one extra particle of matter was produced every time ten billion particles of anti matter were produced. The problem is that even though this asymmetry is small, current theories of physics cannot explain it. In fact, standard theories say matter and anti matter should have been produced in exactly equal quantities, but the existence of humans, Earth, and everything else in the universe proves there must be more, undiscovered physics.

Currently, a popular idea shared by researchers is that this asymmetry was produced just after inflation, a period in the early universe when there was a very rapid expansion. A blob of field could have stretched out over the horizon to evolve and fragment in just the right way to produce this asymmetry. The researchers also found the conditions to create these ripples are very common, and the resulting gravitational waves should be large enough, and low enough frequency to be detected by conventional gravitational wave detectors. (12/9)

Europe Opens Up a New Space to Commercial Services (Source: Space Daily)
From launchers and spacecraft to space habitats, private companies are invited to join Europe's activities in Earth's orbital neighborhood and provide services in a rocketing market. These commercial services would overlap with the end of lifetime of the International Space Station that is expected to stop operations most likely in the early 2030s.

"One of the major challenges for Europe is to remain relevant in low Earth orbit, and to stay competitive amongst other spacefaring nations," says David Parker, ESA's director of human and robotic exploration. Cargo and human space transportation are essential capabilities to access this new economic sphere. "We are asking industry what Europe's role could be in providing autonomous European space transportation services in a future without the International Space Station," says Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA's director of space transportation.

While investors are gaining record momentum in a diversified landscape of emerging countries and entrepreneurs, Parker adds that "it is crucial that Europe is not left behind and seizes every opportunity to offer services, economic growth and innovation. ESA is preparing its future activities in the frame of the "SciHab" (Science and Habitation) concept - an orbital human-tended platform with a modular design and open to commercial services. SciHab has been dubbed as the future lighthouse for Europe's presence in Earth orbit, both a science and habitation platform. (12/10)

Chinese Yutu-2 Rover Embarks on Weeks-Long 80-Meter Journey to Reach 'Moon Cube' (Sources: Sputnik, Vice)
As China's Yutu-2 lunar rover set off to investigate a peculiar shape dubbed the "moon cube," which the craft spotted earlier this month, the rover will take its time traveling to it. It may take about two to three lunar days, "or two to three months on Earth," for the rover to reach the object supposedly located about 80 meters away.

While Yutu-2 has a designed maximum speed of 200 meters per hour, in reality, the rover does not plough ahead at full speed. Instead, engineers on Earth calculate every step the rover takes, using satellite images of the moon's surface and images taken by the craft's cameras to plot its course and guide it to avoid obstacles such as craters that dot the lunar landscape.

The craft also makes stops to conduct research, and it has to halt its operations when it becomes too cold during the lunar night. The complicated nature of the rover's navigation process thus results in the rover moving "very slowly but surely," the media outlet notes, pointing out that by the end of September, after 1,000 days of operation, Yutu-2 covered a distance of 839 meters. (12/10)

"Newer, Nimbler, Faster:" Venus Probe Will Search for Signs of Life in Clouds of Sulfuric Acid (Source: Space Daily)
With multiple rovers landed and a mission set to return samples to Earth, Mars has dominated the search for life in the solar system for decades. But Venus has some fresh attention coming its way. A team led by MIT researchers lays out the scientific plan and rationale for a suite of scrappy, privately-funded missions set to hunt for signs of life among the ultra-acidic atmosphere of the second planet from the sun.

The first of the missions is set to launch in 2023, managed and funded by California-based Rocket Lab. The company's Electron rocket will send a 50-pound probe on board its Photon spacecraft for the five-month, 38-million-mile journey to Venus, all for a three-minute skim through the Venusian clouds.

Using a laser instrument specially designed for the mission, the probe will aim to detect signs that complex chemistry is occurring within the droplets it encounters on its brief descent into the haze. Fluorescence or impurities detected in the droplets could indicate something more interesting than sulfuric acid might be wafting around up there, and add ammunition to the idea that parts of Venus' atmosphere might be habitable. (12/10)

Growing Trend Shows Demand for Embry-Riddle Maintenance Students at Commercial Space Firms (Source: Space Daily)
Aviation Maintenance Science (AMS) students have been drawing attention in recent years from a new suitor: commercial space companies. With at least 16 students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's AMS program hired at SpaceX and Blue Origin within the past six years, program leaders credit a steady evolution in the aviation and aerospace sectors - namely, the commercial space boom: an increase in private aerospace companies, rocket launches and space tourism.

"The space industry has grown rapidly following the government's decision to open up contracts to private companies to provide transportation of supplies and personnel to the International Space Station," said AMS associate professor Marshall Tetterton. "Our students are in demand to commercial space firms, in my opinion, because the program here at Embry-Riddle covers and prepares them for a wide variety of disciplines - such as composites, hydraulics, structural, pneumatics, electrical and powerplant systems - and the core focus is around troubleshooting." (12/6)

Airbus and DLR Intensify Cooperation (Source: Space Daily)
Airbus and the German Aerospace Center are expanding their cooperation in research on climate protection in aviation. Under an agreement signed by Nicole Dreyer-Langlet, Airbus' VP Research and Technology Representative, Germany, and Markus Fischer, DLR Divisional Board Member Aeronautics, future joint projects will focus, in particular, on emission measurements for new types of aviation fuels, including hydrogen, and on understanding the effect of emissions on the atmosphere in conjunction with the improvement of climate models. (12/9)

AST SpaceMobile Provides Update on BlueWalker 3 Launch Timing (Source: Space Daily)
AST SpaceMobile, the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones, has provided updated timing for the launch of its next satellite, BlueWalker 3. As discussed on the recent Third Quarter 2021 Business Update call and disclosed in its third quarter Form 10-Q, AST SpaceMobile had been evaluating whether to rebook the launch of BlueWalker 3, to target a new launch within months of the prior launch window of March 1, 2022 to April 30, 2022.

On November 30th, in accordance with the terms of the Launch Services Agreement, AST SpaceMobile submitted a rebooking notice for a revised launch window targeting Summer 2022. The ultimate launch timing is subject to mutual agreement and coordination with the launch services provider. The purpose for the rebooking of the BlueWalker 3 launch is to provide additional time for assembly, testing and final launch preparation. (12/6)

Space Command’s Goal of Uniting All US Military Space Functions (Source: Air Force Magazine)
The leaders at U.S. Space Command plan to figure out over the long term how to turn their command’s service-affiliated component commands—units from the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy—into “functional components.” The Space Force, on the other hand, already contributes “the lion’s share of what we have,” said U.S. Space Command’s deputy commander, Space Force Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw, during the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ virtual Spacepower Forum on Dec. 10.

Shaw said he’d seen “tremendous change” not just within the command but “across the space enterprise” since becoming deputy commander in November 2020. That’s included “integration” of U.S. Space Command and the Space Force into other military services and other combatant commands “and across the department of defense and beyond—allies and partners and other parts of our government.” (12/10)

Swedish Space Corporation Joins European Megaconstellation Project UN:IO (Source: SSC)
Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) joins European space consortium UN:IO targeted at creating an independent European constellation of satellites for commercial and institutional communication channels. As a vital part of the infrastructure, SSC adds its significant heritage from satellite communications services as well as one of the world’s leading ground station networks. The megaconstellation is set to be fully operational by 2025, supported by the European Commission who picked UN:IO out of the 10 consortia that applied. (12/13)

Former Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson: Will Private Capital Fund Off-World Infrastructure? (Source: Via Satellite)
On this episode of On Orbit, C5 Capital’s Rob Meyerson explains how private investors define “space infrastructure” both as physical constructs and investment opportunities. Meyerson was one of the first employees of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launch company, serving as its president until 2018. Since leaving the launch industry, he has built a broad space sector investment portfolio. He also serves as the executive producer of ASCEND, a new platform created by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to promote space technology development and infrastructure investment. Click here. (12/6)

Seeing a New Side of VP Kamala Harris at National Space Council (Source: The Hill)
Vice President Harris recently conducted the first meeting of the National Space Council (NSC) of the Joe Biden presidency, and she handled it with competence and efficiency. It was a far departure from the vice president’s recent cringeworthy video touting space exploration for the next generation, which featured child actors. Harris made the initial remarks, setting out the meeting’s agenda in clear terms — and might boost her currently abysmal approval rating if more people saw this side of her.

While the Biden administration has arguably gotten off to a rocky start, the NSC meeting and the space priorities document demonstrate, space policy is proving to be a bright spot for the current president and vice president — albeit one that is not being well covered by the media. Harris has gotten bad marks for gaffes since taking office. However, if she can replicate what she did at the National Space Council meeting in other venues, she may yet recover.

One problem not covered by the meeting is Congress’s underfunding of both the Human Landing System and the commercial space stations that should follow the International Space Station. If Harris, a former senator, can sway Congress to appropriate more money for these and other programs, she will have a success that will redound for her political standing. (12/12)

Former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin Aims to help the Next Generation Reach for the Stars (Source: Space.com)
Former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin is working to help the next generation reach the same lofty heights that he did. Melvin, a retired NASA astronaut, completed two space shuttle missions to the International Space Station during his tenure, one in 2008 and the other in 2009. But in the years since then, Melvin has been hard at work following in his parents' footsteps.

Looking to the example set by his parents, who were both educators, Melvin told Space.com, he's been connecting with youth around the world through a series of free online classes he teaches with the platform Varsity Tutors. "I think the most rewarding thing that I have gotten from flying in space is, you know, coming back and empowering other people to believe that they can do this, too," Melvin said. (12/12)

Space and SPACs: A COVID Romance? (Source: Space News)
For SPAC investors, the heavy focus on a quick ROI – and overall risk aversion – may ultimately make SPACs and the space sector an imperfect fit. The growth in popularity of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) has impacted many industries, including the space sector. While the relationship between the two dates back to the successful merger of Iridium in 2008, the pace of SPAC activity in the space sector truly accelerated in 2020 and 2021, marked by several high-profile mergers.

The majority have been successful, with redemption rates equivalent to or lower than those in other SPAC mergers. However, there are several examples of space companies with redemption rates of 50% or more – even as high as 90% in the case of small satellite manufacturer Spire Global, which went public in August 2021. Boston Consulting Group’s analysis of current SPAC trends and the nature of traditional investment in the space sector suggests that while some elements of space are attractive to SPAC investors, the two may not be natural long-term partners.

This potential lack of compatibility may stem from the typical desire for quick returns with SPACs, versus the often long-term timelines to profitability from space startups. Additionally, performance risks in the space sector may be unappealing to SPAC investors. Numerous companies in this sector have declared bankruptcy, while others have suffered high-profile setbacks such as launch failures. (12/8)