Kicking off a busy end to the company’s 2021 launch campaign, SpaceX launched a group of Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Wednesday evening. The Group 4-3 mission carried 48 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads to low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 first stage tasked with the launch, designated B1060-9, landed successfully downrange on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. (12/2)
Rocket Lab Plans Larger, Reusable Neutron Rocket to Takes On SpaceX (Source: CNBC)
Rocket Lab on Thursday revealed more about the larger, more powerful Neutron rocket it is developing. “This is Neutron. It is an absolute beast,” Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a webcast presentation. Neutron is designed to be 131 feet tall and 23 feet in diameter, and it’s targeting a maximum payload capacity of 15,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. For reusable launches, Neutron will be able to carry up to 8,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. These are the first details given about the new rocket since the company announced it announced plans for it earlier in the year.
Beck declined to comment on the price tag of a Neutron launch, but said the rocket “would be a pointless exercise” if Rocket Lab “didn’t think that we would be very cost competitive with with anything that’s currently in the market or or being proposed.” For comparison, Rocket Lab’s small Electron rocket goes for about $7 million per launch, Firefly’s medium-sized Alpha rocket goes for $15 million per launch, and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is advertised at $62 million per launch. Click here.
Editor's Note:
No word on where Neutron will launch in the US. Virginia's Wallops
Island spaceport has some significant limitations for large rockets
like Neutron, and maybe also for adding a landing facility. There are probably a couple compatible pads at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, including LC-37 which will be abandoned by ULA as it retires the Delta-4 rocket in ~2024. LC-37 is not just another long-unused pad that would require environmental remediation and ground-up construction. It includes a huge rocket processing facility (still leased from Space Florida, I believe), a launch gantry, and fuel/oxidizer infrastructure. (12/2)
Federal Judge Rules in Favor of ULA in Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit (Source: WAFF)
Federal contractors nationwide are suing over President Biden’s vaccine mandate, including contractors for United Launch Alliance in Decatur. But, a federal judge on Tuesday denied requests by the employees to get their jobs back. A federal judge ruled in favor of ULA in the preliminary injunction request by Decatur employees brought against the company over vaccine mandates.
In the lawsuit, the employees asked the judge to grant a preliminary injunction, which would have banned ULA from forcing unvaccinated employees to resign who had filed religious or medical exemptions. “Judge Kallon primarily found that they hadn’t shown a substantial probability that they would win the case in the end. That’s always the most important,” Huntsville Employment Attorney Robert Lockwood said.
The employees claimed ULA violated their religious freedoms by not accepting their exemptions and wanted a judge to restore their employment immediately. ULA’s argument has been clear, follow company policy for public safety. In this opinion the judge said more harm could come to ULA in keeping unvaccinated workers on the payroll versus them finding a new job. (12/1)
Senators Urge Biden Action on Space Debris (Source: Space Policy Online)
The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has sent letters to Vice President Harris and Secretary of Commerce Raimondo urging them to step up efforts to address the threat from space debris. Russia’s recent antisatellite test created more than 1,500 new pieces of trackable debris, underscoring the need to find ways to maintain the long-term sustainability of the space environment they said. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair and ranking member of the full committee, and Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), chair and ranking member of the Space and Science subcommittee, signed both letters.
Wicker is a long-standing advocate for addressing the space debris issue through NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) and for elevating that office within the Department of Commerce to increase its visibility and clout. His Space Preservation and Conjunction Emergency (SPACE) Act passed the Senate earlier this year as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
In the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the bipartisan group pointed out that efforts begun during the Trump Administration to create an Open Access Data Repository (OADR) of data from government and commercial sources on the location of space objects have slowed. The OSC has been without a permanent director since the change in Administrations and the Senators urge her to appoint someone to provide the needed leadership to move forward. (11/30)
Biden Admin to Strengthen Ability to Detect 'Hostile Acts' in Space with New Policy Framework (Source: Fox News)
The Biden administration is accelerating its transition to a "more resilient" national security space posture and will strengthen its ability to detect and attribute hostile acts in space as part of the White House's new framework for U.S. space policy priorities. The White House said in its framework that space "underpins our national security and ability to respond decisively to crises around the world." The White House said that information collected from space informs national decision makers about "evolving threats to U.S., allied and partner interests."
"Space capabilities enable the U.S. military to protect and defend the U.S. homeland and to advance the national and collective security interests of the United States and its allies and partners," the White House said. The framework notes that the "intensifying strategic competition" around the globe "presents a serious threat to U.S. national security interests, including in space." (12/1)
White House Releases Space Policy Priorities (Source: Space News)
The White House released its space policy priorities Wednesday. The seven-page "United States Space Priorities Framework" document, released just before the first meeting of the National Space Council in the Biden administration, set out priorities ranging from supporting the peaceful and sustainable use of space to using space data for climate change and supporting STEM education. It also backs continued U.S. leadership in space exploration and space science, as well as defending national security interests in space. The report says little about how those priorities will be implemented, instead serving as a guide for the council's work. (12/2)
Space Force General: China, Russia 'Catching Up Quickly to US' (Source: Fox News)
China and Russia have regularly attacked U.S. space-based assets, so far causing "reversible" damage, a Space Force official has said. Gen. David Thompson of the U.S. Space Force said "We are still the best in the world, clearly in terms of capability... They’re catching up quickly. We should be concerned by the end of this decade if we don’t adapt."
Some military officials and experts have recently urged greater development and deployment of satellites to boost the U.S. military’s constellations around the planet in order to strengthen the fidelity of sensing, particularly in response to a successful Chinese hypersonic weapons test. John Venable of the Heritage Foundation told Fox News in October that adding more satellites was one of the "two big things" the government needs to do in order to keep pace with China’s development. (12/1)
Sustainability and Security a Theme of Space Council Meeting (Source: Space News)
Space sustainability and security, including Russia's ASAT test, was a theme of Wednesday's National Space Council meeting. Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials condemned as "irresponsible" that mid-November ASAT test that destroyed a defunct Russian satellite and created at least 1,500 pieces of trackable debris. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks called on all nations to refrain from such tests in the future, as part of efforts to promote rules and norms of behavior in space.
The meeting was a sign the Biden Administration is focusing on space security, building upon previous work such as tenets for responsible behavior in space issued by the Defense Department this summer. Those efforts, though, may be hindered by the lack of a Senate-confirmed official at the Pentagon in charge of space policy. (12/2)
National Space Council Is Back and Focused on Security (Source: WIRED)
“While our space exploration takes us to the moon, Mars, and the edge of our solar system, I believe we also have the responsibility to look to our home planet,” VP Harris said at the meeting, which was held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, and was streamed online. She was introduced by senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly of Arizona, who said that “space exploration has the incredible capacity to inspire future generations” while citing his own inspiration from “Neil and Buzz.”
The National Space Council is intended to coordinate policies and priorities across numerous government agencies that deal with everything from space observations to launches, communications, and security. Former president George H. W. Bush created the original council in 1989, which was led by his vice president, Dan Quayle. Then the organization was disbanded in 1993. Former president Donald Trump revived the council in 2017, and then-VP Mike Pence headed it for a series of eight meetings. In March, President Biden’s national security advisers announced that the administration would revive the council.
The meeting brought together leaders from more than a dozen federal agencies and included advisers from the space industry and military. In conjunction with the meeting, President Biden signed an executive order adding five new members to the council: the secretaries of education, labor, agriculture, and interior, as well as the national climate adviser. The additions are aimed at ensuring that the benefits of American space activities are applied broadly throughout society, Harris said. (12/1)
Vice President Highlights STEM in First National Space Council Meeting (Source: Space Daily)
Vice President Kamala Harris chaired the first National Space Council meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Prior to the meeting, President Biden expanded the number of participants of the council by executive order, reflecting the Biden-Harris administration's broad priorities and creating the largest, most diverse space council in the nation's history.
During the meeting, Vice President Harris led a discussion about how the United States should capitalize on opportunities in space, including promoting peaceful exploration and reducing the risk of miscalculation or conflict in space, addressing the climate crisis, and building a stronger STEM workforce. Vice President Harris also announced the release of the United States Space Priorities Framework, which will guide the council's efforts to develop and implement national space policy and strategy. (12/2)
China to Livestream First Space Class from Tiangong Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
China will livestream to the world the first space class from its space station Tiangong in the upcoming days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Thursday. China will launch a space science education brand "Tiangong Class" -- the first of its kind -- to give full play to the Chinese space station, according to the CMSA.
In the "Tiangong Class," Chinese astronauts will become the "teachers in space" and interact with students, especially teenagers. With the progress of the manned space flight mission, the "Tiangong Class" will introduce a series of classes focusing on the construction of the Chinese space station and its in-orbit operation, the CMSA said. (12/2)
Space Force Has a Plan for Training Its Troops. Now It Must Figure Out What They Need to Learn (Source: Defense One)
Unlike its earthbound sister services, the Space Force can’t simply head out to some terrestrial exercise range to train its troops, develop new tactics, or peer into the future of weaponry. Nor do Space Force units have a natural deploy-and-rebuild cycle that affords time for advanced training. So the two-year-old service is creating a new force-generation concept and modeling and simulation environments, a top Space Force leader said.
“Whether it's missile warning or precision, navigation, timing, military satellite communications— all of that doesn't stop. None of it stops,” said Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations, nuclear, and cyber. “So how do I figure out how to organize and present the forces where it preserves some residual capacity to do the advanced training?” The answer, Saltzman told a virtual audience at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, is a new force-generation model that uses rotations to create time for Guardians to be away from the immediate duties.
This model will also allow Guardians to get much-needed practice for the first war in space. A lot of times what we do is we may have a good idea, but since we haven't tested it on any kind of range capability, we haven't tested against a thinking adversary, I'm not sure whether it would qualify as a tactic or a good idea at this point. And so as we build out the modeling and sim capability to really put our tactics to the test, then we'll be able to lean more on the operators to employ those tactics should they need to mitigate a threat.” Click here. (12/2)
No Space Force Presence at Nation's Largest Military Simulation and Training Event (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) is the world's largest modeling, simulation and training event, held annually in Orlando at the end of November. This year's I/ITSEC featured technical papers, panels, and military senior-leader discussions about the growing need for education and training coordination and interoperability among the military services. Unfortunately, while the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines were well represented with exhibits, paper presentations, and flag-officer policy discussions, the Space Force had no visible presence.
I/ITSEC is held in Orlando because it is a global hotspot for simulation and training (S&T) tech development and policy, with several major military S&T organizations based in and around the research park adjacent to the University of Central Florida. The Space Force's absence at I/ITSEC is unusual as they are are actively engaged in standing up their STARCOM organization for guardian education and training, with plans to make simulation an important part of the program. (12/2)
Space Force Welcomes North Carolina A&T to the University Partnership Program (Source: US Space Force)
The U.S. Space Force added North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to its University Partnership Program during a virtual ceremony Dec. 1. N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. and Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson signed the memorandum of understanding from their respective locations on campus in East Greensboro, North Carolina and at the Pentagon.
“Just over a year ago, I visited the campus of North Carolina A&T when we were first developing the concept for the University Partnership Program,” Thompson said. “From that first conversation with Chancellor Martin and University leaders, we knew A&T would be a model institution and critical partner to the Space Force as we built the initiative to deliver a STEM-focused workforce and advance space-related research of importance to the nation.”
Establishing strategic partnerships with a select set of nationally-renowned universities allows the Space Force to recruit and educate a diverse, high-caliber workforce, offer opportunities to advance research in specific areas of interest, and develop a 21st century, technology-savvy military service. (12/1)
Russia: US Pegasus Rocket Debris to Approach Space Station on December 3 (Source: TASS)
A fragment of a US Pegasus rocket will fly at a distance of 5.4 km from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday afternoon, the press office of the Russian space agency Roscosmos reported on Wednesday.
"A stage fragment of a Pegasus carrier rocket launched in 1994 will approach the International Space Station on the afternoon of December 3. According to the data of the Main Information and Analysis Center of the Automated Warning System of Hazardous Situations in near-Earth Space, the object is expected to approach the ISS at a minimum distance of 5.4 km at 13:33 Moscow time on Friday," the statement says. (12/1)
NASA's Second Pepper Harvest Sets Record on Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
The longest - and perhaps the spiciest - plant experiment in the history of the International Space Station, Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04), concluded recently, 137 days after it began. On Nov. 26, Expedition 66 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei harvested and with other members of the crew sampled some of the 26 chile peppers grown from four plants in the orbiting laboratory's Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), with PH-04 also breaking the record for feeding the most astronauts from a crop grown in space. (12/2)
Kymeta Developing OneWeb Flat Antenna (Source: Space News)
Antenna maker Kymeta announced a partnership with OneWeb to develop a flat panel antenna for use with OneWeb's satellite constellation. Kymeta said the antenna will be based on the u8 terminal it launched commercially in November 2020 and will be available to purchase by the third quarter of 2022. Kymeta said Wednesday its agreement with OneWeb also paves the way to terminals for mobility applications on land and at sea. Engineering teams from both companies aim to make the new terminal compatible with satellites in GEO as well. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition Of Space Hardware Company Planetary Systems Corp. (Source: Roket Lab)
Rocket Lab USA has closed the previously-announced transaction to acquire Planetary Systems Corporation (PSC), a Maryland-based spacecraft separation systems company, for $42 million in cash and 1,720,841 shares of the company’s common stock, plus the potential for an additional 956,023 shares of common stock for a performance earnout based on PSC’s CY 2022 and 2023 financial results. (12/1)
Rocket Lab Readies Electron for Lift-Off in Fastest Launch Turnaround Yet (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab USA has revealed its next Electron mission is scheduled to take place during a launch window that opens on Dec. 7, fewer than three weeks since Rocket Lab's most recent mission on Nov. 18. These two missions for BlackSky occur 19 days apart and represent Rocket Lab's quickest turnaround in its launch history. The "A Data With Destiny" mission for BlackSky managed through global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc., will be Rocket Lab's 23rd Electron launch and sixth mission of 2021. Rocket Lab will not be attempting to recover Electron for this mission. (12/2)
Europe Provides Mars-Orbit Data Services to China's Mars Rover (Source: ESA)
Europe and China cooperated on a communications link for China's Mars rover. In the test last month, China commanded the Zhurong rover to transmit data to ESA's Mars Express orbiter as it passed overhead. Mars Express received the transmission and relayed it back to Earth. Differences in frequencies supported by the rover and orbiter mean two-way communications between them is not possible, but the rover could be commanded to transmit "in the blind" at frequencies Mars Express could receive. ESA said the test was successful, and that additional ones are planned to see how Mars Express could act as a relay for Zhurong. (12/2)
Nissan Joins Japan's Lunar Rover Race (Source: Kyodo)
Another Japanese automaker is getting into the lunar rover business. Nissan announced Thursday it has developed a prototype of a small robotic lunar rover it developed in cooperation with the Japanese space agency JAXA. The rover uses technologies Nissan first developed for terrestrial electric vehicles. The company said it will continue to work on the rover for at least another year, but didn't disclose when it might be ready to send to the moon. Toyota is already working with JAXA on concepts for a large pressurized rover for future crewed lunar missions. (12/2)
Humanity's Unlikely Gateway to Space (Source: BBC)
The world's first and most secretive space base, Baikonur Cosmodrome, sits in the middle of a vast Central Asian desert, 2,600km south-east of Moscow and 1,300km from Kazakhstan's two main cities, Nur-Sultan and Almaty. It was from this remote part of the western steppe in 1957 that the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite – Sputnik 1 – into orbit around Earth. Four years later, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin launched from here to become the first human to fly into space aboard the Vostok 1. And in 1963, Valentina Tereshkova launched from Baikonur as the first woman in space.
After the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle program in 2011, Baikonur became the planet's only working launch site to the International Space Station (ISS). Now, 60 years after Gagarin's historic first flight, it remains the world's main spaceport. But how and why did a dusty outpost in the wilds of western Kazakhstan become humanity's unlikely gateway to outer space? Click here. (12/1)
SpaceX’s Starlink Is Testing Internet Service for Aircraft (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX’s Starlink unit is testing its space-based internet service with several aircraft and wants to offer in-flight connection to airlines “as soon as possible,” a company vice president said. Starlink is in talks with several airlines about offering in-flight broadband connections, said Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of commercial sales. That would put the company in direct competition with Viasat Inc., Intelsat SA, Telesat Corp. and others.
Starlink is producing six satellites a week at its assembly site near Seattle, Hofeller said. It is also moving to a more sophisticated version. He didn’t disclose details of the testing or how advanced the company’s discussions with airlines are. (11/30)
Private Habitats, Not Just the International Space Station, May Be Needed to Get Astronauts to Mars (Source: Space.com)
Private space stations may end up being a key stepping stone on humanity's path to Mars. NASA aims to put astronauts on the moon in this decade and on the Red Planet in the 2030s. To help make these ambitious goals a reality, the agency is performing lots of research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) — monitoring astronaut health, behavior and performance on year-long orbital missions, for example, to better understand the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and mind.
But the venerable ISS, which is 23 years old and has hosted rotating astronaut crews continuously since November 2000, may not be around long enough to see this work through, according to a new report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG). (12/1)
NASA Selects Orbital Reef to Develop Space Station Replacement (Source: Blue Origin)
Orbital Reef, led by partners Blue Origin and Sierra Space, was selected today by NASA for a funded Space Act Agreement for collaboration to design a commercially owned and operated space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA’s Commercial LEO Development program aims to shift NASA’s research and exploration activities in LEO to commercial space stations, helping stimulate a growing space economy before the International Space Station is retired. The Orbital Reef team includes Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. (12/2)
Nova Scotia Spaceport Developer Maritime Launch Services Creates US Subsidiary (Source: SpaceQ)
Less than two weeks after revealing its first launch customer, Maritime Launch Services (MLS) today announced its that it had created a new US-based subsidiary that will be led by industry veteran Robert Feierbach.
The new company, Maritime Launch USA Inc., already has an office set up in Washington that officially opened up today. I had the opportunity to meet Feierbach recently at the MLS event in Halifax. He brings 25 years of experience to the company having worked at Space Systems/Loral when it was an MDA company, SES Global, Eutelsat, Hughes, and SpaceX to name a few. He joins Maritime Launch USA Inc. as its President. (12/1)
Could Humanity Send Astronauts to Alpha Centauri Like in 'Lost in Space'? (Source: Space.com)
Will humans ever find themselves at home at Alpha Centauri? With life on Earth facing increasing challenges as humans battle against massive problems like climate change and its ever-worsening consequences, people often wonder if humanity could possibly live on another planet. In the show "Lost in Space," which got a 2018 revival on Netflix after its original iteration in the 1960s, the Space Family Robinson family pursues doing exactly that.
The show sees the family journeying out to a planet in Alpha Centauri, the closest solar system to our own. Season 3 of "Lost in Space" premieres today (Dec. 1) on Netflix. But what might it actually be like for humans to not only travel to our nearby stellar neighborhood but actually live there? Click here. (12/1)
How Space Exploration is Advancing Remote Medicine (Source: CBC)
As billionaires race to the stars, many have been quick to throw shade on the rich for spending money on joyrides to space instead of solving problems on Earth. But a Canadian astronaut is reminding people that space exploration has the power to contribute to life-changing advances on our planet. "You can argue whether or not we need to go to Mars. I think that's not the point. We will go to Mars because it's there and we want to explore," said Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
"But going to Mars is going to require figuring out recycling. We're going to become masters at air, water and recycling, at food production. That's going to help us on Earth." In an interview with CBC News, the astronaut and family physician said that while essentials such as health care, education, employment and security should always take priority, he believes a fraction of our resources must also be devoted to dreaming big — through the arts, exploration and science.
One of the key examples noted in the paper is the Bio-Monitor, wearable technology that Saint-Jacques tried out during his 204-day mission aboard the International Space Station from 2018 to 2019. During his mission, the smart shirt continuously monitored Saint-Jacques's heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, temperature, physical activity and blood oxygen levels. (11/24)
Federal Judge Rules in Favor of ULA in Vaccine Mandate Lawsuit (Source: WAFF)
Federal contractors nationwide are suing over President Biden’s vaccine mandate, including contractors for United Launch Alliance in Decatur. But, a federal judge on Tuesday denied requests by the employees to get their jobs back. A federal judge ruled in favor of ULA in the preliminary injunction request by Decatur employees brought against the company over vaccine mandates.
In the lawsuit, the employees asked the judge to grant a preliminary injunction, which would have banned ULA from forcing unvaccinated employees to resign who had filed religious or medical exemptions. “Judge Kallon primarily found that they hadn’t shown a substantial probability that they would win the case in the end. That’s always the most important,” Huntsville Employment Attorney Robert Lockwood said.
The employees claimed ULA violated their religious freedoms by not accepting their exemptions and wanted a judge to restore their employment immediately. ULA’s argument has been clear, follow company policy for public safety. In this opinion the judge said more harm could come to ULA in keeping unvaccinated workers on the payroll versus them finding a new job. (12/1)
Senators Urge Biden Action on Space Debris (Source: Space Policy Online)
The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has sent letters to Vice President Harris and Secretary of Commerce Raimondo urging them to step up efforts to address the threat from space debris. Russia’s recent antisatellite test created more than 1,500 new pieces of trackable debris, underscoring the need to find ways to maintain the long-term sustainability of the space environment they said. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair and ranking member of the full committee, and Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), chair and ranking member of the Space and Science subcommittee, signed both letters.
Wicker is a long-standing advocate for addressing the space debris issue through NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) and for elevating that office within the Department of Commerce to increase its visibility and clout. His Space Preservation and Conjunction Emergency (SPACE) Act passed the Senate earlier this year as part of the U.S. Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
In the letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the bipartisan group pointed out that efforts begun during the Trump Administration to create an Open Access Data Repository (OADR) of data from government and commercial sources on the location of space objects have slowed. The OSC has been without a permanent director since the change in Administrations and the Senators urge her to appoint someone to provide the needed leadership to move forward. (11/30)
Biden Admin to Strengthen Ability to Detect 'Hostile Acts' in Space with New Policy Framework (Source: Fox News)
The Biden administration is accelerating its transition to a "more resilient" national security space posture and will strengthen its ability to detect and attribute hostile acts in space as part of the White House's new framework for U.S. space policy priorities. The White House said in its framework that space "underpins our national security and ability to respond decisively to crises around the world." The White House said that information collected from space informs national decision makers about "evolving threats to U.S., allied and partner interests."
"Space capabilities enable the U.S. military to protect and defend the U.S. homeland and to advance the national and collective security interests of the United States and its allies and partners," the White House said. The framework notes that the "intensifying strategic competition" around the globe "presents a serious threat to U.S. national security interests, including in space." (12/1)
White House Releases Space Policy Priorities (Source: Space News)
The White House released its space policy priorities Wednesday. The seven-page "United States Space Priorities Framework" document, released just before the first meeting of the National Space Council in the Biden administration, set out priorities ranging from supporting the peaceful and sustainable use of space to using space data for climate change and supporting STEM education. It also backs continued U.S. leadership in space exploration and space science, as well as defending national security interests in space. The report says little about how those priorities will be implemented, instead serving as a guide for the council's work. (12/2)
Space Force General: China, Russia 'Catching Up Quickly to US' (Source: Fox News)
China and Russia have regularly attacked U.S. space-based assets, so far causing "reversible" damage, a Space Force official has said. Gen. David Thompson of the U.S. Space Force said "We are still the best in the world, clearly in terms of capability... They’re catching up quickly. We should be concerned by the end of this decade if we don’t adapt."
Some military officials and experts have recently urged greater development and deployment of satellites to boost the U.S. military’s constellations around the planet in order to strengthen the fidelity of sensing, particularly in response to a successful Chinese hypersonic weapons test. John Venable of the Heritage Foundation told Fox News in October that adding more satellites was one of the "two big things" the government needs to do in order to keep pace with China’s development. (12/1)
Sustainability and Security a Theme of Space Council Meeting (Source: Space News)
Space sustainability and security, including Russia's ASAT test, was a theme of Wednesday's National Space Council meeting. Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials condemned as "irresponsible" that mid-November ASAT test that destroyed a defunct Russian satellite and created at least 1,500 pieces of trackable debris. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks called on all nations to refrain from such tests in the future, as part of efforts to promote rules and norms of behavior in space.
The meeting was a sign the Biden Administration is focusing on space security, building upon previous work such as tenets for responsible behavior in space issued by the Defense Department this summer. Those efforts, though, may be hindered by the lack of a Senate-confirmed official at the Pentagon in charge of space policy. (12/2)
National Space Council Is Back and Focused on Security (Source: WIRED)
“While our space exploration takes us to the moon, Mars, and the edge of our solar system, I believe we also have the responsibility to look to our home planet,” VP Harris said at the meeting, which was held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, and was streamed online. She was introduced by senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly of Arizona, who said that “space exploration has the incredible capacity to inspire future generations” while citing his own inspiration from “Neil and Buzz.”
The National Space Council is intended to coordinate policies and priorities across numerous government agencies that deal with everything from space observations to launches, communications, and security. Former president George H. W. Bush created the original council in 1989, which was led by his vice president, Dan Quayle. Then the organization was disbanded in 1993. Former president Donald Trump revived the council in 2017, and then-VP Mike Pence headed it for a series of eight meetings. In March, President Biden’s national security advisers announced that the administration would revive the council.
The meeting brought together leaders from more than a dozen federal agencies and included advisers from the space industry and military. In conjunction with the meeting, President Biden signed an executive order adding five new members to the council: the secretaries of education, labor, agriculture, and interior, as well as the national climate adviser. The additions are aimed at ensuring that the benefits of American space activities are applied broadly throughout society, Harris said. (12/1)
Vice President Highlights STEM in First National Space Council Meeting (Source: Space Daily)
Vice President Kamala Harris chaired the first National Space Council meeting of the Biden-Harris Administration Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Prior to the meeting, President Biden expanded the number of participants of the council by executive order, reflecting the Biden-Harris administration's broad priorities and creating the largest, most diverse space council in the nation's history.
During the meeting, Vice President Harris led a discussion about how the United States should capitalize on opportunities in space, including promoting peaceful exploration and reducing the risk of miscalculation or conflict in space, addressing the climate crisis, and building a stronger STEM workforce. Vice President Harris also announced the release of the United States Space Priorities Framework, which will guide the council's efforts to develop and implement national space policy and strategy. (12/2)
China to Livestream First Space Class from Tiangong Space Station (Source: Xinhua)
China will livestream to the world the first space class from its space station Tiangong in the upcoming days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced Thursday. China will launch a space science education brand "Tiangong Class" -- the first of its kind -- to give full play to the Chinese space station, according to the CMSA.
In the "Tiangong Class," Chinese astronauts will become the "teachers in space" and interact with students, especially teenagers. With the progress of the manned space flight mission, the "Tiangong Class" will introduce a series of classes focusing on the construction of the Chinese space station and its in-orbit operation, the CMSA said. (12/2)
Space Force Has a Plan for Training Its Troops. Now It Must Figure Out What They Need to Learn (Source: Defense One)
Unlike its earthbound sister services, the Space Force can’t simply head out to some terrestrial exercise range to train its troops, develop new tactics, or peer into the future of weaponry. Nor do Space Force units have a natural deploy-and-rebuild cycle that affords time for advanced training. So the two-year-old service is creating a new force-generation concept and modeling and simulation environments, a top Space Force leader said.
“Whether it's missile warning or precision, navigation, timing, military satellite communications— all of that doesn't stop. None of it stops,” said Lt. Gen. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s deputy chief of space operations, nuclear, and cyber. “So how do I figure out how to organize and present the forces where it preserves some residual capacity to do the advanced training?” The answer, Saltzman told a virtual audience at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, is a new force-generation model that uses rotations to create time for Guardians to be away from the immediate duties.
This model will also allow Guardians to get much-needed practice for the first war in space. A lot of times what we do is we may have a good idea, but since we haven't tested it on any kind of range capability, we haven't tested against a thinking adversary, I'm not sure whether it would qualify as a tactic or a good idea at this point. And so as we build out the modeling and sim capability to really put our tactics to the test, then we'll be able to lean more on the operators to employ those tactics should they need to mitigate a threat.” Click here. (12/2)
No Space Force Presence at Nation's Largest Military Simulation and Training Event (Source: SPACErePORT)
The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) is the world's largest modeling, simulation and training event, held annually in Orlando at the end of November. This year's I/ITSEC featured technical papers, panels, and military senior-leader discussions about the growing need for education and training coordination and interoperability among the military services. Unfortunately, while the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines were well represented with exhibits, paper presentations, and flag-officer policy discussions, the Space Force had no visible presence.
I/ITSEC is held in Orlando because it is a global hotspot for simulation and training (S&T) tech development and policy, with several major military S&T organizations based in and around the research park adjacent to the University of Central Florida. The Space Force's absence at I/ITSEC is unusual as they are are actively engaged in standing up their STARCOM organization for guardian education and training, with plans to make simulation an important part of the program. (12/2)
Space Force Welcomes North Carolina A&T to the University Partnership Program (Source: US Space Force)
The U.S. Space Force added North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to its University Partnership Program during a virtual ceremony Dec. 1. N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. and Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson signed the memorandum of understanding from their respective locations on campus in East Greensboro, North Carolina and at the Pentagon.
“Just over a year ago, I visited the campus of North Carolina A&T when we were first developing the concept for the University Partnership Program,” Thompson said. “From that first conversation with Chancellor Martin and University leaders, we knew A&T would be a model institution and critical partner to the Space Force as we built the initiative to deliver a STEM-focused workforce and advance space-related research of importance to the nation.”
Establishing strategic partnerships with a select set of nationally-renowned universities allows the Space Force to recruit and educate a diverse, high-caliber workforce, offer opportunities to advance research in specific areas of interest, and develop a 21st century, technology-savvy military service. (12/1)
Russia: US Pegasus Rocket Debris to Approach Space Station on December 3 (Source: TASS)
A fragment of a US Pegasus rocket will fly at a distance of 5.4 km from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday afternoon, the press office of the Russian space agency Roscosmos reported on Wednesday.
"A stage fragment of a Pegasus carrier rocket launched in 1994 will approach the International Space Station on the afternoon of December 3. According to the data of the Main Information and Analysis Center of the Automated Warning System of Hazardous Situations in near-Earth Space, the object is expected to approach the ISS at a minimum distance of 5.4 km at 13:33 Moscow time on Friday," the statement says. (12/1)
NASA's Second Pepper Harvest Sets Record on Space Station (Source: Space Daily)
The longest - and perhaps the spiciest - plant experiment in the history of the International Space Station, Plant Habitat-04 (PH-04), concluded recently, 137 days after it began. On Nov. 26, Expedition 66 Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei harvested and with other members of the crew sampled some of the 26 chile peppers grown from four plants in the orbiting laboratory's Advanced Plant Habitat (APH), with PH-04 also breaking the record for feeding the most astronauts from a crop grown in space. (12/2)
Kymeta Developing OneWeb Flat Antenna (Source: Space News)
Antenna maker Kymeta announced a partnership with OneWeb to develop a flat panel antenna for use with OneWeb's satellite constellation. Kymeta said the antenna will be based on the u8 terminal it launched commercially in November 2020 and will be available to purchase by the third quarter of 2022. Kymeta said Wednesday its agreement with OneWeb also paves the way to terminals for mobility applications on land and at sea. Engineering teams from both companies aim to make the new terminal compatible with satellites in GEO as well. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition Of Space Hardware Company Planetary Systems Corp. (Source: Roket Lab)
Rocket Lab USA has closed the previously-announced transaction to acquire Planetary Systems Corporation (PSC), a Maryland-based spacecraft separation systems company, for $42 million in cash and 1,720,841 shares of the company’s common stock, plus the potential for an additional 956,023 shares of common stock for a performance earnout based on PSC’s CY 2022 and 2023 financial results. (12/1)
Rocket Lab Readies Electron for Lift-Off in Fastest Launch Turnaround Yet (Source: Space Daily)
Rocket Lab USA has revealed its next Electron mission is scheduled to take place during a launch window that opens on Dec. 7, fewer than three weeks since Rocket Lab's most recent mission on Nov. 18. These two missions for BlackSky occur 19 days apart and represent Rocket Lab's quickest turnaround in its launch history. The "A Data With Destiny" mission for BlackSky managed through global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc., will be Rocket Lab's 23rd Electron launch and sixth mission of 2021. Rocket Lab will not be attempting to recover Electron for this mission. (12/2)
Europe Provides Mars-Orbit Data Services to China's Mars Rover (Source: ESA)
Europe and China cooperated on a communications link for China's Mars rover. In the test last month, China commanded the Zhurong rover to transmit data to ESA's Mars Express orbiter as it passed overhead. Mars Express received the transmission and relayed it back to Earth. Differences in frequencies supported by the rover and orbiter mean two-way communications between them is not possible, but the rover could be commanded to transmit "in the blind" at frequencies Mars Express could receive. ESA said the test was successful, and that additional ones are planned to see how Mars Express could act as a relay for Zhurong. (12/2)
Nissan Joins Japan's Lunar Rover Race (Source: Kyodo)
Another Japanese automaker is getting into the lunar rover business. Nissan announced Thursday it has developed a prototype of a small robotic lunar rover it developed in cooperation with the Japanese space agency JAXA. The rover uses technologies Nissan first developed for terrestrial electric vehicles. The company said it will continue to work on the rover for at least another year, but didn't disclose when it might be ready to send to the moon. Toyota is already working with JAXA on concepts for a large pressurized rover for future crewed lunar missions. (12/2)
Humanity's Unlikely Gateway to Space (Source: BBC)
The world's first and most secretive space base, Baikonur Cosmodrome, sits in the middle of a vast Central Asian desert, 2,600km south-east of Moscow and 1,300km from Kazakhstan's two main cities, Nur-Sultan and Almaty. It was from this remote part of the western steppe in 1957 that the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite – Sputnik 1 – into orbit around Earth. Four years later, in 1961, Yuri Gagarin launched from here to become the first human to fly into space aboard the Vostok 1. And in 1963, Valentina Tereshkova launched from Baikonur as the first woman in space.
After the retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle program in 2011, Baikonur became the planet's only working launch site to the International Space Station (ISS). Now, 60 years after Gagarin's historic first flight, it remains the world's main spaceport. But how and why did a dusty outpost in the wilds of western Kazakhstan become humanity's unlikely gateway to outer space? Click here. (12/1)
SpaceX’s Starlink Is Testing Internet Service for Aircraft (Source: Bloomberg)
SpaceX’s Starlink unit is testing its space-based internet service with several aircraft and wants to offer in-flight connection to airlines “as soon as possible,” a company vice president said. Starlink is in talks with several airlines about offering in-flight broadband connections, said Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of commercial sales. That would put the company in direct competition with Viasat Inc., Intelsat SA, Telesat Corp. and others.
Starlink is producing six satellites a week at its assembly site near Seattle, Hofeller said. It is also moving to a more sophisticated version. He didn’t disclose details of the testing or how advanced the company’s discussions with airlines are. (11/30)
Private Habitats, Not Just the International Space Station, May Be Needed to Get Astronauts to Mars (Source: Space.com)
Private space stations may end up being a key stepping stone on humanity's path to Mars. NASA aims to put astronauts on the moon in this decade and on the Red Planet in the 2030s. To help make these ambitious goals a reality, the agency is performing lots of research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) — monitoring astronaut health, behavior and performance on year-long orbital missions, for example, to better understand the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and mind.
But the venerable ISS, which is 23 years old and has hosted rotating astronaut crews continuously since November 2000, may not be around long enough to see this work through, according to a new report by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG). (12/1)
NASA Selects Orbital Reef to Develop Space Station Replacement (Source: Blue Origin)
Orbital Reef, led by partners Blue Origin and Sierra Space, was selected today by NASA for a funded Space Act Agreement for collaboration to design a commercially owned and operated space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA’s Commercial LEO Development program aims to shift NASA’s research and exploration activities in LEO to commercial space stations, helping stimulate a growing space economy before the International Space Station is retired. The Orbital Reef team includes Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions, and Arizona State University. (12/2)
Nova Scotia Spaceport Developer Maritime Launch Services Creates US Subsidiary (Source: SpaceQ)
Less than two weeks after revealing its first launch customer, Maritime Launch Services (MLS) today announced its that it had created a new US-based subsidiary that will be led by industry veteran Robert Feierbach.
The new company, Maritime Launch USA Inc., already has an office set up in Washington that officially opened up today. I had the opportunity to meet Feierbach recently at the MLS event in Halifax. He brings 25 years of experience to the company having worked at Space Systems/Loral when it was an MDA company, SES Global, Eutelsat, Hughes, and SpaceX to name a few. He joins Maritime Launch USA Inc. as its President. (12/1)
Could Humanity Send Astronauts to Alpha Centauri Like in 'Lost in Space'? (Source: Space.com)
Will humans ever find themselves at home at Alpha Centauri? With life on Earth facing increasing challenges as humans battle against massive problems like climate change and its ever-worsening consequences, people often wonder if humanity could possibly live on another planet. In the show "Lost in Space," which got a 2018 revival on Netflix after its original iteration in the 1960s, the Space Family Robinson family pursues doing exactly that.
The show sees the family journeying out to a planet in Alpha Centauri, the closest solar system to our own. Season 3 of "Lost in Space" premieres today (Dec. 1) on Netflix. But what might it actually be like for humans to not only travel to our nearby stellar neighborhood but actually live there? Click here. (12/1)
How Space Exploration is Advancing Remote Medicine (Source: CBC)
As billionaires race to the stars, many have been quick to throw shade on the rich for spending money on joyrides to space instead of solving problems on Earth. But a Canadian astronaut is reminding people that space exploration has the power to contribute to life-changing advances on our planet. "You can argue whether or not we need to go to Mars. I think that's not the point. We will go to Mars because it's there and we want to explore," said Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
"But going to Mars is going to require figuring out recycling. We're going to become masters at air, water and recycling, at food production. That's going to help us on Earth." In an interview with CBC News, the astronaut and family physician said that while essentials such as health care, education, employment and security should always take priority, he believes a fraction of our resources must also be devoted to dreaming big — through the arts, exploration and science.
One of the key examples noted in the paper is the Bio-Monitor, wearable technology that Saint-Jacques tried out during his 204-day mission aboard the International Space Station from 2018 to 2019. During his mission, the smart shirt continuously monitored Saint-Jacques's heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, temperature, physical activity and blood oxygen levels. (11/24)
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