January 6, 2022

Govt Space Budgets Hit Record $92 Billion in 2021, with $1 Trillion Forecast (Source: Euroconsult)
Euroconsult has released its highly anticipated “Government Space Programs” report for 2021. The highlight of this year’s findings is a continued, even accelerated, volume of governmental investment in the space sector, driven by two major drivers: ambitious space exploration programs by leading space countries, and rivalries driving the militarization of space.

Despite a year of uncertainty, the space sector has received record government investment totaling over $92 Billion, an 8% increase compared to 2020. Civilian space budgets, totaling $53 billion in 2021, continue to receive more funding than defense space programs, at 58% of total spending, though the share going to defense, $39 billion in 2021, is increasing.  Geopolitical tensions, increasing rivalry between leading space powers, and the value of space as the ultimate high ground drive the militarization of space trend, with leaders increasing their investments in defense space assets and technologies. (1/6)

Falcon 9 Slashed Launch Costs. Will Starship? (Source: Space News)
Launch costs per kilogram fell dramatically when SpaceX introduced the Falcon 9 rocket, and declined again with reusable Falcon 9 boosters and fairings. While SpaceX waits for the FAA to complete an environmental review of the Boca Chica, Texas, launch site, people are talking about Starship's potential impact on the market. "Space is about to go through a revolution," said Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Capital partner. With Starship flying, "we're going to be putting 10 to 100 times as much mass in space as we have been in the last 20-30 years within the next couple years," Maguire said.

Starship could change the design constraints. "It lets you plan your spacecraft more like a Toyota Corolla and less like a Formula One racecar" because you don't have to focus on minimizing mass, said Rick Ward, OrbitsEdge founder and chief technology officer. "If SpaceX can change the economics again, that's going to be a great thing," said Luis Gomes, AAC Clyde Space CEO. "Launch cost continues to be one of the obstacles for a lot of things." (1/5)

Space Force Seeks Private Sector Support for Orbital Debris Removal (Source: Space News)
The vice chief of the Space Force called on the private sector to help clean up space junk. In a video released Wednesday, Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson said he wants companies to submit proposals to a program called Orbital Prime by SpaceWERX to develop technologies that could clean up orbital debris. The long-term goal is to conduct an in-space demonstration of debris removal technologies less than three years from now. Thompson said the Space Force wants to see these technologies succeed so it can buy debris-removal services from the private sector. (1/6)

Angara Upper Stage Reenters Harmlessly After Failed Launch (Source: Space News)
The upper stage of a failed Angara launch reentered harmlessly Wednesday. The Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron said the Persei upper stage reentered at 4:08 p.m. Eastern over the South Pacific. The upper stage malfunctioned after a launch last week, stranding it in a low orbit that decayed. The launch was just the third for the Angara-A5 since 2014, all of which have carried only test payloads. (1/6)

No Problems Yet at Baikonur Amid Kazakhstan Political Unrest (Source: Space Policy Online)
Conditions are stable at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan amid unrest elsewhere in the country. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, said the launch site was secured and calm Wednesday, reiterating that point early Thursday. Citizens have protested increased gas prices in the country in recent days, including in its largest city, Almaty. The Kazakh government has invited Russian "peacekeepers" into the country to end the protests. (1/6)

Leidos Invests in HawkEye 360 (Source: Space News)
Leidos is investing in HawkEye 360. The companies announced Thursday that Leidos will add $5 million to HawkEye 360's recent Series D, increasing the total funding from that round to $150 million. Leidos will also develop "advanced analytics" for the radio-frequency geolocation data that HawkEye 360's satellites provide. (1/6)

Space Business: The Final (Profitable) Frontier (Source: Space Daily)
Companies have proposed a series of ideas which until recently sounded like long shots, such as asteroid mining -- but they have also suggested less far-fetched biomedical applications or production of some types of technology. Mason Peck, an astronautics professor at Cornell University, said that until the last five years making things in space and bringing them back to Earth just didn't make sense. "Now there are companies... who are actually focused on this question: How can I make a buck in space?" he told AFP.

"This has never been the way that people articulate the benefits of space. It's always been something a little bit broader, like the benefit to mankind or humanity or the sake of science," he added. But the power of profit has the potential to vastly accelerate efficiency, technological advances and capacity in ways that is not in the slow and purposely deliberate approach of NASA or the European Space Agency. "It's pumping more money into the space industry. Technology improves, cost goes down so everybody benefits," said Mike Gruntman, a professor of astronautics at the University of Southern California.

This would come as NASA has agreements that are part of the agency's efforts to enable an American-led commercial economy in low-Earth orbit. Yet the prospect of increasing activity in space which could be done by profit-seeking companies carries very real risks. "There is certainly going to come a time when there will be tragedy and death and destruction as a result of this as there is with everything. There's car crashes, bridges fail, trains derail," Peck added. "The next William Shatner we send to space might not make it back... and that will be terrible. But these are not reasons not to do it," he said. (1/5)

JWST Deploys Secondary Mirror (Source: CBS)
The James Webb Space Telescope successfully deployed its secondary mirror Wednesday. A tripod with legs nearly eight meters long unfolded and locked into place, holding the mirror that focuses light collected by the larger primary mirror into the telescope's instruments. Project officials said the deployment went smoothly. The final steps in JWST's deployment, involving a radiator and two "wings" that hold segments of the primary mirror, are scheduled for the next few days. (1/6)

SLS Rollout Delayed to February (Source: NASA)
The rollout of the first Space Launch System rocket had slipped to the middle of February. NASA said Wednesday that it replaced a controller in one of the four engines in the core stage of the rocket and is conducting tests of that computer and other vehicle systems before rolling the rocket out to the launch pad in mid-February for a fueling test and practice countdown known as a wet dress rehearsal. NASA has not set a date for the launch of the SLS on the Artemis 1 mission, but a rollout in mid-February means a launch is unlikely until at least later in the spring. (1/6)

New Inmarsat Satellite in Transit to GEO (Source: Inmarsat)
Inmarsat's newest satellite is beginning its journey to geostationary orbit. The company said Thursday that the electric propulsion system on Inmarsat-6 F1 has started maneuvers to move the satellite to GEO after its launch into a transfer orbit last month. That orbit-raising effort will take about 200 days to complete, after which the satellite will undergo extensive testing before entering service in early 2023. (1/6)

Branson Gets COVID, Will Miss Virgin Orbit Market Debut (Source: @richardbranson)
Richard Branson says COVID-19 will keep him from attending the opening bell ceremony Friday for Virgin Orbit. Branson tweeted Thursday that both he and his wife contracted the omicron variant of COVID-19 recently, but that his symptoms have been mild. Branson had planned to be at Nasdaq on Friday to mark Virgin Orbit going public last week, but instead he will participate in an opening bell ceremony virtually. (1/6)

Supernovae and Life on Earth Appear Closely Connected (Source: Space Daily)
Evidence demonstrates a close connection between the fraction of organic matter buried in sediments and changes in supernovae occurrence. This correlation is apparent during the last 3.5 billion years and in closer detail over the previous 500 million years. The correlation indicates that supernovae have set essential conditions under which life on Earth had to exist. This is concluded in a new research article published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters by senior researcher Dr Henrik Svensmark, DTU Space.

According to the article, an explanation for the observed link between supernovae and life is that supernovae influence Earth's climate. A high number of supernovae leads to a cold climate with a significant temperature difference between the equator and polar regions. This results in strong winds and ocean mixing, vital for delivering nutrients to biological systems. High nutrient concentration leads to a larger bioproductivity and a more extensive burial of organic matter in sediments. A warm climate has weaker winds and less mixing of the oceans, diminished supply of nutrients, a smaller bioproductivity, and less burial of organic matter. (1/6)

NASA Autonomous Flight Termination System to Allow Broader Use of Virginia Spaceport (and Others) (Source: Space Daily)
NASA has provided an advance release of its NASA Autonomous Flight Termination Unit (NAFTU) software code to the launch industry, a critical milestone toward the final certification of NAFTU, which is on-track for February 2022. NAFTU is a game-changing command and control system available to launch vehicle providers for use at all U.S. launch ranges in ensuring public safety during launch operations. Among the companies that are working with the NAFTU software is Rocket Lab, which has a launch pad at Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

NASA Wallops, in collaboration with NASA Headquarters, the Air Force, Space Force, and the FAA, began development of the NAFTU system in 2020. It is more complicated than other, proprietary automated flight safety systems (AFSS) in that it's designed to be customizable and support a wide array of launch vehicles at any launch range.

Autonomous Flight Termination Systems like NAFTU are a key component of the launch range of the future and a mandatory requirement for Department of Defense (DOD) launches beginning in 2025. The system provides a number of benefits, such as wider launch windows, smaller downrange safety corridors that enhance area clearance operations, and reduced need/expense of ground-based systems. AFSS will be a game changer for enabling launches from Wallops and decreasing cost for access to space in the future, and NAFTU will be the system that leads this effort for many years to come. (1/6)

Georgia Spaceport Controversy Heads to Court (Source: SpaceportFacts.org)
Camden County’s attempt to start a spaceport that launches rockets over Cumberland Island National Seashore has finally reached the courts. It's the start of a long, expensive journey. Almost 4,000 Camden registered voters petitioned the Camden Probate Court on 14 December to schedule a Special Election within 90 days so they could decide if voters want to allow Camden County to buy the former Union Carbide site. Camden County is poised to close on a long-standing purchase option after the FAA issued a license allowing the site to be used for launching rockets.

Many Camden citizens do not want to own the former site where munitions and explosives remain undiscovered, and pollutants from the manufacture of rocket fuel and other toxic substances remain in both known and undiscovered disposal sites. Hundreds of acres would be off-limits behind fenced Restricted Use Zones and Camden taxpayers would be required to carry a $10 million Environmental Liability Insurance Policy as a down payment for damages to Union Carbide’s landfill. The property has been under a Georgia Environmental Covenant restricting development and water use for a decade. There are no Georgia or Federal funds available to clean the property.

Judge Scarlett of the Camden County State Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order in December preventing Camden County from purchasing the Union Carbide site for the future spaceport. A hearing is scheduled on 11 January to determine if a Permanent Restraining Order should be issued and remain effective until after Camden’s voters have had an opportunity to decide in a Special Election. (1/6)

Georgia County Seeks to Disqualify Anti-Spaceport Petitions (Source: SpaceportFacts.org)
Camden County has responded to the citizen-initiated action to halt a proposed spaceport land purchase by issuing subpoenas to a few petition signers who signed more than once during the two-year gathering effort. In total, Camden’s brief listed 13 petitioners whose signatures were duplicated. In total, Camden’s brief listed 28 questionable petitions out of the 4,000 submitted. In fact, it is not a violation of any law to sign a petition multiple times. It is not even the petitioners’ responsibility to look for duplicates because the County’s Election Office is responsible for the counting of valid petitions.

Likewise, Camden County is claiming that petitioners waited until it was too late to object to the purchase of the contaminated land. Camden claims that their purchase option expires once-and-for-all on 13 January, and that Union Carbide will not allow any extension. That might be true but let us see the contract. The Judge certainly knows by now that Camden has never released the Union Carbide agreements for public review, so it would be impossible for citizens to know the deadline of a contract that originated in 2015 and that has been secretly renewed multiple times. (1/6)