January 24, 2022

Space is the Final Frontier for Data Centers (Source: Data Center Knowledge)
Last year marked the first time humanity deployed a conventional data center in space. The HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 – a set of HPE Edgeline Converged EL4000 Edge and HPE ProLiant machines, each with an Nvidia T4 GPU to support AI workloads – was sent to the International Space Station in February of 2021. This is the first off-the-shelf server deployed in space to run actual production workloads.

"It is not hardened," said Mark Fernandez, principal investigator for Spaceborne Computer-2 at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. "The goal is to avoid the time and cost to harden a computer, so you can go with the latest technology." Elsewhere in space – on Mars landers, in satellites, in space station control systems – most of the computers are decades old. "The hardened processors available today are circa 1995, 1996," Fernandez told Data Center Knowledge. Not only are they slow but it's hard to find developers who can write software for these machines, he said. (1/18)

China's Galactic Energy Raises $200M for Medium-Lift Reusable Launcher (Source: Space News)
Chinese commercial rocket maker Galactic Energy raised $200 million in two funding rounds during the second half of 2021, the company announced Monday. The funding, raised in Series B and B+ rounds, would go towards development of the Pallas-1 medium-lift reusable launch vehicle and related infrastructure. That rocket, designed to place up to 5,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit, is slated for its first launch in early 2023. In December, Galactic Energy became the first Chinese private launch firm to successfully reach orbit twice with its smaller Ceres-1 solid-fuel rocket. (1/24)

NTSB Seeks Larger Role in Space Transportation Mishap Investigations (Source: Space News)
An NTSB proposal to take a larger role in investigating commercial launch mishaps faces opposition from both industry and the FAA. The NTSB released the proposed regulations in November, which it said was its effort to codify a role in investigating accidents in the way it does other modes of transportation. Companies would be required to notify the NTSB immediately in the event of a mishap, followed by an investigation led by the NTSB.

In a public comment period that closed last week, many companies argued the proposal duplicates the role of the FAA in overseeing investigations and that the still-nascent commercial human spaceflight industry should be treated differently. The FAA responded that the NTSB should instead work with the FAA to update existing agreements between the agencies regarding roles and responsibilities for investigating launch accidents. (1/24)

ESA's ExoMars Mission on Track for September Launch (Source: Space News)
ESA says its ExoMars mission is on schedule for launch in September after missing its original launch window in 2020. The agency said last week that the mission, which will deliver a rover called Rosalind Franklin to the surface of Mars, was proceeding well and had a "small positive launch schedule margin." The mission was scheduled to launch in mid-2020, but a combination of technical issues and the onset of the pandemic delayed it to this year. ESA officials also said at a briefing last week that it expected to select a new class of four to six astronauts by the end of the year, after recently whittling down the initial pool of about 23,000 applicants to 1,360 who will now undergo tests. (1/24)

Plus Ultra and ispace Plan Lunar Navigation/Comms Constellation (Source: Space News)
A European startup will work with a Japanese company to deploy a lunar communications and navigation constellation. Plus Ultra announced a collaboration agreement last week with Japanese company ispace that includes the transport and deployment of Plus Ultra's Harmony minisatellites as soon as 2024. Plus Ultra expects to launch its first satellite in late 2023 with German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg before hitching its first ride with ispace as part of the venture's third lander mission. The full Harmony constellation of eight satellites will provide continuous high-speed communications of up to 100 megabits per second between the moon and Earth and navigation with an accuracy of 20 meters. (1/24)

Will Space Force Protect Orbiting Gas Stations and Bases on the Moon? (Source: NextGov)
Earlier this month, U.S. firm OrbitFab inked its first deal to provide ”a gas station in space” that will help satellites and spacecraft keep going after they exhaust the propellant they brought  to orbit. It’s another sign of the infrastructure being built to help firms and countries return to the moon and ultimately venture beyond. For the Space Force, it’s generating another set of questions about its responsibilities to defend those assets.

“We're already starting to see so much private industry reaching towards cislunar space and lunar projects. So this refueling, what it opens up, is now the condition that you can travel beyond only the fuel that you can bring with you. Think how limited our travels would be if we can only go anywhere on one tank of gas,” said Lesley Conn, senior manager of research and analysis with the Space Foundation. “It allows U.S. interests to advance and other national interests. It also raises the specter that as U.S. companies expand into space, how will the U.S. Space Force and other nations seek to advance and extend their defense responsibilities into that same environment?”

There’s no policy answer yet, said Victoria Samson. Washington office director of the Secure World Foundation. The administration “is still thinking about what the U.S. wants its role for the U.S. military to be in space,” Samson said. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond said that role is still being shaped. “As the nation goes further away, as the world goes further away from the Earth, I think there's going to be a requirement to have at least at a minimum, some domain awareness on that environment,” Raymond said. (1/21)

An Ocean on Saturn's Mimas? (Source: New York Times)
A small moon of Saturn could have a subsurface ocean. Mimas is a moon about 400 kilometers across, dubbed the "Death Star" because of a large crater that gives the moon the appearance of the famous Star Wars space station. Scientists long thought the moon was too small to have a subsurface ocean, but a new study says that a wobble in the moon's rotation can be explained by the presence of an ocean a few dozen kilometers below the surface. Scientists note, though, that the wobble can also be explained by a solid, but stretched, interior of the moon. (1/24)

Boeing Hosts New Orleans-Area SLS Hiring Event (Source: Biz New Orleans)
Boeing is seeking more than 100 potential employees to join its Space Launch System team at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility located in New Orleans East. Teammates will help build the core and upper stages of the most powerful rockets ever built, designed to carry astronauts to the moon and beyond. Fabrication technicians, quality specialists and quality inspectors are invited to attend a manufacturing and quality virtual career event on Jan. 27. (1/21)