February 11, 2022

Astra's First Launch From Florida Fails to Reach Orbit (Source: Space News)
Astra's first launch from Florida failed to reach orbit Thursday when the rocket malfunctioned during stage separation. The Rocket 3.3 vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 3 p.m. Eastern. However, the vehicle's upper stage appeared to tumble out of control immediately after separating from the lower stage, and Astra later confirmed the launch failed. The company did not immediately provide any more details about the failure, the fourth in five orbital launch attempts. The rocket was carrying four NASA-sponsored cubesats on a launch paid for by NASA's Venture Class Launch Services program. Shares in Astra plummeted after the failure, closing down 26%. (2/11)

Soyuz Rocket Launches 34 OneWeb Satellites From French Guiana Spaceport (Source: Space News)
A Soyuz rocket successfully launched 34 OneWeb satellites. The Soyuz lifted off from French Guiana at 1:09 p.m. Eastern Thursday, deploying its payload of 34 satellites over the next four hours. The launch was Arianespace's 13th mission for OneWeb but only the second to use a Soyuz rocket launched from Guiana Space Center. Arianespace has said it plans to launch the rest of OneWeb's constellation this year to enable the company to provide global services, with OneWeb announcing additional agreements with companies worldwide to distribute its planned connectivity services. (2/11)

Starship Program Has Roots on the Space Coast, Despite Primary Development in Texas (Source: Florida Today)
Early in the presentation, Musk explained that although Texas is Starship’s most prominent production location, a crucial component of Starship, the heat shield tiles, are manufactured in Florida. The protective tiles, reminiscent of tiles that were used on NASA’s space shuttles, are hexagon in shape and produced at “a little factory in Florida near Cape Canaveral. We call it the Bakery,” explained Musk.

To reduce cost, Musk explained that the SpaceX heat shield team utilizes techniques that are the same for making roofing tiles. Thousands of the small hexagons are fixed to the underbelly of Starship and collectively create “the world’s largest heat shield and one that is reusable, but also robust and low-cost,” according to Musk. Although Starship and its 230-foot-tall Super Heavy booster are constructed on-site and have only launched a handful of times from the South Texas location, Musk believes the future of the Starship program resides in Florida. 

A potential launch site for the massive Starship and Super Heavy booster requires a large span of uninhabited land or water for maximum public safety, safe access to existing launch trajectories, and a relatively short distance to refurbishment facilities. SpaceX’s existing launchpad used for its Falcon family of vehicles, Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, meets all the requirements. Even better, SpaceX was previously granted approval for Starship use of the launch site by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2019. (2/11)

Spaceport Opponent: Small Launchers Offer Few Jobs for Georgia Spaceport (Source: Spaceport Facts_
Astra’s fully containerized rocket requires only six team members to travel from the California factory to set it up in Florida. Launch control stays in California. If each Astra worker spent $500 dollars a day for a full month in Florida, they would generate less than $100,000 in gross revenue for the area and less than $2,000 in total local sales tax. No Camden County spaceport tourist is reported to have traveled to Cape Canaveral to witness the launch. (2/11)

Musk Offers Update on Oil Rig Conversions for Starship Operations (Source: SPACErePORT)
In July 2020, Lone Star Mineral Development LLC, a subsidiary of SpaceX, bought two semi-submersible oil drilling rigs for $3.5 million each. The plan has been for Phobos and Deimos to be converted into orbital launch/landing sites for Starship rockets. On Thursday night Elon Musk said the the conversion is currently de-prioritized, though SpaceX plans to build a "catch tower" on one of the platforms in the near term. Musk's vision for multiple weekly Starship launches still includes the use of these floating platforms. (2/11)

Israeli Tech Companies Find Success in the Tampa Bay Region (Source: WFTS)
There is a growing connection between the Tampa Bay region and the country of Israel when it comes to tech companies. Dr. Oren Milstein believes in Tampa so much he brought his company here and his family. Milstein is CEO of StemRad. An Israeli company making radiation protection equipment for doctors, first responders, the military, and even astronauts. StemRad made its way to Tampa thanks in part to the Florida-Israel business accelerator known as FIBA. (11/2021)

DoD's SDA Wants Commercial Earth Observation Data (Source: Space News)
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) is interested in acquiring commercial Earth observation data. Frank Turner, SDA technical director, said at the SmallSat Symposium Thursday that his agency is looking for ways to rapidly acquire Earth observation data from companies as part of a hybrid architecture. To date, SDA has focused primarily on acquiring satellites more quickly, in greater quantity and at lower prices than the Defense Department has traditionally paid, such as for a communications network called the Transport Layer. SDA plans to announce contracts for Transport Layer Tranche 1 by the end of the month, Turner said. (2/11)

DoD Plans Zero-Trust Architecture for Satellite Networks (Source: Space News)
The Defense Department will work with the satellite communications industry on ways to implement "zero trust" networks. A new cybersecurity policy issued by the Biden administration last month called for government networks to use a zero-trust architecture, one founded on the idea that no user can be trusted and thus requires strong authentication methods for users, data and devices. John Sherman, chief information officer for the Defense Department, said Thursday that transitioning satellite-based networks to this more secure architecture will require significant coordination with commercial satcom operators that provide services to DoD. Sherman said DoD would discuss with commercial satcom providers their responsibilities in the transition to zero trust networks. (2/11)

Space Force Seeks Commercial Partnership for Debris Removal (Source: Space News)
A Space Force general says the service wants to partner with commercial efforts to remove orbital debris. Gen. David "DT" Thompson, vice chief of space operations, said it's not the Space Force's job to remove debris but wants to help cultivate the space industry sector that is pursuing such projects. Thompson plugged Orbital Prime, a new effort by SpaceWERX, the Space Force's technology arm, to invest in debris-removal and in-space servicing technologies. The Space Force is also reviewing its routine practices to find ways to generate less debris. (2/11)

Space Force Plans Metaverse for Training, Collaboration (Source: Space News)
The Space Force is heading to the metaverse. Lisa Costa, chief technology and innovation officer for the Space Force, said at a conference Thursday that the service "could create our own version of the metaverse" to allow service members to collaborate, train and conduct any number of other activities. A metaverse is especially appealing to the Space Force because guardians normally rely on digital representations of the space domain to do their jobs, she said. (2/11)

India Plans PSLV Launch of Earth Observation Satellite (Source: PTI)
India's first launch of the year is scheduled for this weekend. The Indian space agency ISRO says it's planning a PSLV launch of the EOS-04 Earth observation satellite at 7:29 p.m. Eastern Sunday night. EOS-04 is a radar imaging satellite and will be accompanied on the launch by two smallsat secondary payloads. (2/11)

NASA Picks Two Solar Research Missions for Development (Source: Space News)
NASA has selected two heliophysics missions for development. NASA said Thursday it selected the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm as its next two heliophysics Medium-Class Explorer missions. MUSE will study the sun's corona and solar storms at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, while HelioSwarm will fly nine small spacecraft to map solar wind turbulence. MUSE has a projected cost of $192 million and HelioSwarm $250 million. (2/11)

ESA Plans Office to Coordinate Global Climate Modeling (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency will host an international office to coordinate global climate modeling efforts for at least five years. Starting in March, the office for the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), which the World Meteorological Organization partly sponsors, will be hosted alongside ESA's existing climate office in Harwell, U.K. The office will coordinate WCRP's Climate Model Intercomparison Project, which brings together modeling centers from 52 institutions across 26 countries that scientists use to forecast climate change. (2/11)

ESA Renames Lagrange Mission to "Vigil" (Source: ESA)
An ESA space science mission has a new name. ESA announced this week it had renamed the Lagrange mission that would observe the sun from the Earth-sun L-5 Lagrange point "Vigil." Scheduled for launch in the mid-2020s, Vigil will spot solar storms in advance, before those storms rotate into view from Earth. ESA held a competition to select the name, with more than 5,400 submissions worldwide. (2/11)

Astronomers Find Another Earth-Sized Exoplanet (Source: Nature)
Astronomers believe a planet similar in size to the Earth orbits the nearest star to our sun. In a paper published Thursday, astronomers said they had detected a third exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, about 4.25 light-years away. The planet, called Proxima Centauri d, appears to be a little smaller than the Earth and is in the star's habitable zone, meaning that it could support liquid water on its surface. Astronomers detected the planet by measuring very tiny wobbles in the star caused by the planet's gravity as it orbits, a detection enabled by an advanced spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory in Chile. (2/11)

Real Suborbital Spaceflight Was Terrifying for Shatner (Source: IOL)
William Shatner felt terrified during his voyage into space. The 90-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the 'Star Trek' TV series and movies - became the oldest person to go up into space when he blasted off on Jeff Bezos' New Shepard NS-18 rocket in October, but he's now confessed to feeling scared during the voyage.

He shared: "I looked back, and I could see a wake, like a submarine under the water might leave. "The air was tumultuous, filling in as the ship went through it. "Then my eyes went up, and there was impenetrable blackness - the kind I’d seen once in a cave. It’s blackness that’s almost touchable. There was no spinning stars and the majesty of space. It was ominous. It was death." (2/10)

India Needs a Comprehensive Space Strategy (Source: Hindustan Times)
India’s growth and prosperity in the present era is due to its ability to secure its use of outer space. With the advent of the second space age, private NewSpace companies such as SpaceX are leading the charge, and not governmental civilian space agencies or militaries. However, as outlined in the Outer Space Treaty (OST), the existing international laws hold nation-states responsible for the actions and consequences of their private space companies, citizens, and functionaries.

So it is prudent for countries and even alliances of nations to formulate strategic publications detailing the broad direction of their space programmes. Unfortunately, India has not yet published a comprehensive space strategy. It will bolster inter-organisation coordination in India’s space sector and help build investor confidence and project the nation as a responsible space power. (2/11)

UF Space Plants Lab Pushes the Limits of Botany in Space - with Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Source: Microsoft)
The Space Plants Lab at the University of Florida needed a device that could withstand the rigors of a zero-gravity environment—extremes of heat and cold, multiple G-forces, and unknown levels of radiation. That ruggedness is just the entry point for any device that will accompany the plants on board. The program requires that those devices also offer exceptional processing power and data capacity, among other capabilities. Its choice: Microsoft Surface Pro 7, which offers all of this and more in a slim, lightweight form factor.

What does an unassuming little plant have in common with a sleek mobile device? Both are invaluable to the research underway at the Space Plants Lab at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where scientists search for answers to vital questions about survivability on Earth—and elsewhere in the universe. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 emerged as the one device that could take everything an extreme environment can throw at it while also excelling at highly demanding computational tasks. (2/2)

Orbital Transports Announces SmallSats Contest Announces Winner (Source: Orbital Transports)
Peter Wokwicz partnered with Orbital Transports, Inc to set out and find the next unique Small Satellite idea to turn into reality, offering a $10,000 prize, fully paid design/build/launch/operations of the satellite, and the opportunity for the winner to be involved in the process. The winner was chosen based on a combination of social or economic value. The idea had to do good for the world and/or demonstrate a path towards profitability, be economical to build and launch, and fit within 2U's or less.

The official winner of the SmallSat Contest is Marc Katzef from Melbourne Australia! Marc's idea involves an image/message board in space that has video capability, capturing images of the board with the view of Earth in the background. With a corresponding app, users can reserve a time on the message board, upload and see their image/message/satellite information in orbit, identify the satellite location, and automatically generate an NFT for their use. In addition, there will be an augmented reality component in which you can "see" the satellite pass over head with additional information. (2/10)

Musk Offers Details on Starship Plans in Texas, Florida (Source: SPACErePORT)
During his Thursday night update from Texas, Elon Musk offered some details on SpaceX's plans for the huge Starship Super Heavy rocket, including some remarks on the reasons behind the company's substantial growth in South Texas. He said the Texas site allows de-coupling operational launches at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport from R&D operations at Starbase in Texas (which now happens to be Musk's official residence). He said SpaceX is developing a Starship launch complex and production facility at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport, allowing redundancy for Starship operations. Musk said point-to-point launches (including between Texas and Florida) is also a possibility.

Musk is optimistic that SpaceX will receive environmental approval to continue Starship development and operations in Texas, though he expects there may be lawsuits (and associated delays) as a result of the effort. He said SpaceX already has received environmental approval for Starship launches at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport (specifically LC-39A, where Falcon rockets currently are launched), so if required the company could stand-down Falcon operations at LC-39A to convert the facility for Starship. The company's plans currently include a new Starship launch complex in Florida, north of LC-39A, but Musk said he hopes to have a Starship launch capability at LC-39A by the end of 2022.

If the FAA determines that a full-blown Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required at Starbase, Musk said the process would delay the Texas site development for a year or more. In this case, SpaceX would turn its focus to building-out its Florida Starship capability. (2/10)