January 17, 2022

Paragon Snares $100M Lunar Space Station Deal (Source: Arizona Daily Star)
Tucson-based Paragon Space Development Corp. says it has finalized its contract with aerospace giant Northrop Grumman to supply life-support systems for a planned orbiting lunar space station — and revealed the total value of the contract exceeds $100 million. The contract for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), which NASA plans to launch as soon as 2024, is the biggest single contract ever for Paragon, said Grant Anderson, co-founder, president and CEO of Paragon. Paragon has been providing environmental and life-support systems to the space agency and its contractors for nearly 30 years. (1/15)

US Department of Interior Drops the Gauntlet on SpaceX and the FAA at Texas Starbase (Source: EGS Hound)
Are the environmental impacts of Starbase’s future plans below NEPA significance thresholds? FAA and SpaceX’s Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) is a stripped-down environmental review built on the assumption that all impacts are insignificant or can be mitigated after a Finding of Non-Significant Impact (FONSI) from the FAA. If any impacts are determined to be significant, a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required; a multi-year process before any Heavy Booster static fires, Starship launches, or commitment to further launch infrastructure development can commence. So a lot is on the line here.

FAA seems pretty determined to let SpaceX have their way in South Texas, but they are required to follow federal rules separate from (but often parallel to) NEPA. One of these is the DOT Act. In particular, section 4(f) which regulates impacts on “Parks, Recreation Areas, Wildlife and Waterfowl Refuges, and Historic Sites.” Starbase is surrounded on all sides by hundreds of acres of this. Section 4(f) requires other agencies to agree in writing with FAA's findings. But the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service don’t concur with the FAA's preliminary determinations that SpaceX's actions at Boca Chica have no significant impact.

In November, the Department of Interior took the gloves off, rejecting nearly every FAA section 4(f) determination. A full section 4(f) Evaluation is a potential nightmare, requiring the identification of a “Feasible and Prudent" alternative site. If this alternative site has a lower section 4(f) impact, the FAA cannot give a Green Light to Starbase. So if, for example, the Cape Canaveral LC-49 that SpaceX is developing is determined to have a lower impact, Starbase is dead. (1/17)

World’s Largest Airplane Completes First Test Flight in Eight Months (Source: Flying)
Stratolaunch’s Roc—the biggest airplane in the world—returned to the sky Sunday, completing its first test flight in more than eight months. The four-hour and 23-minute mission expanded Roc’s proven test envelope, including a higher altitude, as well as retracting and extending one of Roc’s main landing gear in flight for the first time.

In addition to setting a Roc record for flight duration, the mission pushed its proven test envelope for altitude and speed. The behemoth reached a maximum altitude of 23,500 feet and a top speed of 180 kias, Stratolaunch said, making it Roc’s most productive test flight so far. During previous flights, the airplane climbed to about 17,000 feet and accelerated to 165 kias. Roc was designed to fly to altitudes around 35,000 feet, reaching a top speed of 500 keas. Eventually, owners expect the one-of-a-kind, six-engined, twin-fuselage jet to serve as a carrier to air-launch reusable hypersonic aircraft for testing and research. (1/16)

Spaceport Hearing Pits Georgia County Officials Against Residents (Source: The Current)
At stake, depending on whom you talk to, is the future of the Camden County Commissioners’ planned spaceport. The county manager and county commissioners say it will be a premier job creator for the county and many residents deride the project as a boondoggle or environmental catastrophe. But the tactics used in the debate over proper spending of taxpayer funds also illuminate a rarely used constitutional provision for Georgians to defy local government.

What was being discussed in court on Jan. 11 was a petition. Namely, the fact that the seven residents, all in their 60s or 70s, had signed a petition more than once over the course of two years with the intent of stopping the Spaceport Camden project. The petition in question was filed in probate court last month seeking to repeal County Commission resolutions to purchase 4,000 acres of land from Union Carbide. The county wants the land for a spaceport, though the petition never uses the word “spaceport” or even alludes to the project. Click here. (1/15)

Stealing Secrets From the Ether: Missile and Satellite Telemetry Interception During the Cold War (Source: Space Review)
During the Cold War, the US operated ground stations around the world, including places like Iran and Pakistan, to monitor telemetry from Soviet launches. Dwayne Day explores what’s known about these projects thanks to a recently declassified official history. Click here. (1/17)
 
When SPACs are Attacked (Source: Space Review)
One of the major developments in commercial space last year was the series of companies that went public through mergers with “blank-check” companies called SPACs. Jeff Foust reports those companies are facing new problems as public corporations while SPACs themselves run into difficulties. Click here. (1/17)
 
Liability and Insurance Framework for Manufacturers of Space Objects in India (Source: Space Review)
India’s government is working to open up its space industry to private players, reforms that bring with it a variety of challenges. Three legal experts discuss issues involving liability and insurance regarding that reform effort. Click here. (1/17)

Aliena Deploys Compact and Fuel-Efficient Satellite Engine Into Space (Source: Space Daily)
Aliena, a tech spin-off from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has been deployed into space a nanosatellite fitted with a fuel-efficient engine it has developed. The nanosatellite was sent from the SpaceX Falcon 9's Transporter-3 mission which launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, US.

The satellite's engine, a Hall effect thruster, a type of ion thruster in which ions from the propellant are accelerated by an electric field, was developed by Aliena. Compared to current satellite engines of its type, the new engine consumes just a fraction of power for its operation. Thrusters are crucial to satellites, as they need them to make occasional thrust firings to keep them in orbit, otherwise they will re-enter Earth's atmosphere, putting an end to their mission. This is due to the resistive force or drag from the thin atmosphere which they encounter. (1/14)

Understanding the "Cold Spot" in the Cosmic Microwave Background (Source: Space Daily)
After the Big Bang, the universe, glowing brightly, was opaque and so hot that atoms could not form. Eventually cooling down to about minus 454 degrees Fahrenheit (-270 degrees Celsius), much of the energy from the Big Bang took the form of light. This afterglow, known as the cosmic microwave background, can now be seen with telescopes at microwave frequencies invisible to human eyes. It has tiny fluctuations in temperature that provide information about the early universe.

Now scientists might have an explanation for the existence of an especially cold region in the afterglow, known as the CMB Cold Spot. Its origin has been a mystery so far but might be attributed to the largest absence of galaxies ever discovered. Scientists used data collected by the Dark Energy Survey to confirm the existence of one of the largest supervoids known to humanity, the Eridanus supervoid, as reported in a paper published in December 2021. This once-hypothesized but now-confirmed void in the cosmic web might be a possible cause for the anomaly in the CMB. (1/14)

Watchmaker Omega Joins ClearSpace to Cclean Up Space (Source: Space Daily)
ClearSpace SA is working to rid space of dangerous debris comprising left-over rockets and defunct satellites. Now, Swiss watchmaker OMEGA, manufacturer of the first watch worn on the Moon, is joining with the Lausanne start-up as the first partner for the upcoming debris removal mission. In 2019, ClearSpace was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to fly the ClearSpace-1 mission to remove from orbit part of a European Vega rocket in 2025. It will be the world's first in-orbit clean-up mission, according to ESA, and now OMEGA will support ClearSpace's pioneering endeavour. (1/14)

Update on Africa's 1st Satellite Constellation Built by CPUT (Source: Space Daily)
The Marine Domain Awareness Satellites (MDASat) have already started successfully transmitting data after they were launched aboard US aerospace company SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket yesterday. The mission carried a total of 105 spacecraft, including CubeSats, microsats, PocketQubes and orbital transfer vehicles. CPUT Vice-Chancellor Prof Chris Nhlapo congratulated engineers from the university's African Space Innovation Centre (ASIC) in person while watching the launch live with them at the ground station in Bellville. (1/14)

$10M Elevates UArizona Hypersonics Facilities to National Prominence (Source: Space Daily)
University of Arizona aerospace and mechanical engineering researchers have received $3.5 million in funding from the state of Arizona's investment in the New Economy Initiative and $6.5 million in federal support through the Department of Defense's Test Resource Management Center to upgrade hypersonic facilities and related research infrastructure. The funding positions the university as a leading educational institution in the hypersonics field, said Alex Craig, an assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering. (1/14)

The Overview Effect and Jedi Training with Spacekind (Source: Medium)
Do space and mindfulness have the power to bring the world together? Frank White thinks so, and so does Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides. Frank authored The Overview Effect, the book that explains how viewing Earth from space changes human perception. Loretta’s work also uses space to bend the mind. Her SpaceKind development program is nicknamed “Jedi training.” Loretta, a founder astronaut at Virgin Galactic, coaches participants on how to mentally prepare for space by being a better human. SpaceKind and the Overview Effect are helping the space community grow to a higher level of humanity. Surely Master Yoda would approve.

Loretta’s eight-week personal development course has lessons about facing fear, trusting others, and de-escalating stress. The program includes self-reflection, discussion, and growth challenges. Recently Loretta asked SpaceKinders to make amends with their parents. There is always hope, Loretta teaches. If Darth Vader is redeemable, so is your parent. Social hour follows each meeting, where space professionals build a community of friends. The training invites participants to be vulnerable and take actions that honor their best selves. (1/11)