February 23, 2022

Washington State’s Space Industry Doubles its Economic Impact in Just Four Years (Source: GeekWire)
A newly published report says that the economic impact of Washington state’s space industry has more than doubled in just four years — and lays out strategies for keeping the growth curve climbing. “Space is indeed the new frontier,” said Axel Strakeljahn, who’s president of the Port of Bremerton’s Board of Commissioners as well as chair of the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District Board.

The report, by the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Washington State Space Coalition, estimates the overall economic impact of the region’s core space economy at $4.6 billion annually, supporting a little more than 13,000 jobs. That’s a significant jump over the figures laid out in the first assessment of the state’s space economy, published in 2018. Back then, the economic impact was pegged at $1.8 billion, with a labor force estimated at 6,200 employees.

The growth of Blue Origin is a big factor behind that upward curve: Four years ago, the company had a workforce of more than 1,500 employees — but the updated report uses a figure of 3,000, and the employment level is said to be even higher now. Amazon’s Project Kuiper and SpaceX’s Starlink employ 800 and 900, respectively, in the state. The report also highlights smaller companies — startups Stoke Space and Starfish Space were founded by Blue Origin veterans; LeoStella, is building satellites; Wave Motion Launch Corp. is working on an unorthodox jet-gun launch system; and Radian Aerospace is pursuing plans for a reusable space plane. (2/23)

NOAA Seeking Information on Commercial Space Situational Awareness Data (Source: Space News)
NOAA is seeking information on commercial space situational awareness (SSA) data. NOAA issued an RFI last week requesting details on commercial sources of such data, including positions of space objects and conjunction warnings. The RFI is a prelude to potential future purchases of such data for its open architecture data repository. A NOAA official also said last week that the White House would soon select a new director of the Office of Space Commerce, which is responsible for civil space traffic management. (2/23)

US and Allied Nations Plan for Better Space Cooperation (Source: Space News)
The United States is joining with several allies on plans for greater cooperation to prevent conflicts in space. The Combined Space Operations (CSpO) Vision 2031 document, released Tuesday by the Defense Department and signed by the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, stated that the countries would "generate and improve cooperation, coordination, and interoperability opportunities" regarding freedom of action of space and to prevent conflict there. That includes, the document stated, that countries will "endeavor to minimize the creation of long-lived space debris." The document is seen as another step by the U.S. and allies to promote norms of responsible behavior in space. (2/23)

US Seeks Cost Sharing for WGS System (Source: Space News)
The U.S. is also asking allies to help cover the costs of launching a new military communications satellite. U.S. officials are in talks with international users of the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) communications satellites about a cost-sharing agreement to fund the launch of the new WGS-11+ satellite. Congress directed the development of the satellite and provided funding for it but did not include funding for launching it. The Space Force is seeking contributions from international partners that use the WGS satellites. That launch, expected in 2024, has yet to be procured but is expected to cost on the order of $150 million. (2/23)

Virgin Galactic Years Away From Profitability (Source: Space News)
Virgin Galactic says it remains on schedule for beginning commercial passenger flights of its suborbital spaceplane later this year but is still years away from profitability. In an earnings call Tuesday, company executives said that both its WhiteKnightTwo aircraft and SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane should complete long-term maintenance in the third quarter and start flying customers before the end of the year.

A second suborbital spaceplane will begin flight tests later this year. However, the company said it's counting on a future "Delta-class" series of spaceplanes to provide much higher flight rates, which won't start flying people until 2026. The company said the limited revenue its current vehicles provide, along with costs of development of those new vehicles, will mean it won't be cash-flow positive until 2026. (2/23)

Lynk Global Tapped by Pacific and Caribbean Mobile Operators for Direct-to-Satellite Service (Source: Space News)
Lynk Global announced agreements with several Pacific and Caribbean mobile network operators. The company, developing a satellite constellation that will provide connectivity directly to mobile phones, said it's working with operators like Telikom PNG in Papua New Guinea and bmobile in the Solomon Islands. Lynk says January's volcanic eruption that cut off communications with Tonga has increased interest in its satellite services. (2/23)

Tonga Gets 50 Starlink Terminals for Local Comms (Source: Matangi Tonga Online)
Tonga will use SpaceX's Starlink to provide communications with outlying islands even after an undersea cable has been restored. Prime Minister Hon Siaosi Sovaleni said SpaceX is donating 50 Starlink terminals that will be used to provide service to islands still lacking internet access. An international cable providing service to Tonga's largest island has been fixed, but repairs to domestic cables serving other islands could take months. (2/23)

Relativity Rocket to Get Bigger Engines (Source: Ars Technica)
Relativity will redesign its Terran 1 small launch vehicle to use engines developed for its larger Terran R vehicle. The Terran 1 will initially use nine Aeon 1 engines in its first stage, but the company plans to change the design after a few flights to use a single Aeon R engine. That larger engine is being developed for the Terran R reusable launch vehicle. Relativity CEO Tim Ellis said that the first Terran 1 launch is "definitely" taking place this year but did not offer a specific schedule. (2/23)

KSC Launch Control Center Renamed to Honor Petrone (Source: NASA KSC)
NASA's Kennedy Space Center has renamed its launch control center for a key Apollo-era figure. At a ceremony Tuesday, NASA announced the control center will be now known as the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center. Petrone managed development of the major launch facilities at KSC needed for Apollo, including Launch Complex 39 and the Vehicle Assembly Building and later was director of launch operations at the center. (2/23)

Arceneaux to Pen Memoir (Source: AP)
One of the members of last year's Inspiration4 commercial human spaceflight is writing a memoir. Random House will publish Hayley Arceneaux's "Wild Ride" in September, the publisher announced Tuesday. The book, subtitled "A Memoir of I.V. Drips and Rocket Ships," will recount her battles with childhood cancer as well as her trip to orbit last year on a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The publishing deal also includes a middle-grade version and a picture book edition. (2/23)

South Korea’s INNOSPACE Signs MoU with Andøya Spaceport for Satellite Launches (Source: Parabolic Arc)
Andøya Spaceport and INNOSPACE have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch into polar and sun-synchronous orbits from Norway. INNOSPACE was established in 2017 and is headquartered in South Korea, providing manufacturing and engineering services for aerospace and defence contractors. The company is developing a series of satellite launch vehicles named Hanbit. (2/23)

End of the International Space Station Will Launch a New Era of Chaos in Orbit (Source: Daily Beast)
What comes after ISS will look nothing like the flag-waving, handshaking diplomacy of the multinational research vessel, a post-Cold War olive branch between the U.S. and Russia, built and operated with Japanese, Canadian, and European allies. Low-Earth orbit (LEO)—the area about 100 to 1,200 miles above the planet, where the ISS has remained continuously staffed since 2000—is primed for a takeover by the free market. Rather than build its own successor space station, NASA is grooming other companies for American replacements.

On the other hand, maybe what comes next is… nothing. “After the station is deorbited, maybe there is no enthusiasm for continued activity involving human presence in low-Earth orbit,” Logsdon posited. “It’s fundamentally boring just going around in circles. I think it’s way past time that we leave the immediate vicinity of Earth and go somewhere.” He’d like to see people living and working on the moon: “That’s the first step to us becoming a spacefaring species—people are born, live, and die someplace other than Earth.”

“My impression is that there has been solid research, but no exciting breakthroughs and that it has existed mainly as a symbol of Russian, U.S., and allied cooperation,” Logsdon said. It offered “a sense of hope and optimism” and was a place from which astronauts could call middle schools and give motivational speeches. (Indeed, one of NASA’s five stated goals for ISS’s final decade is “Inspire mankind.”) (2/23)

ABB Secures Order for Near Real-Time Satellite Imaging Technology (Source: Space Daily)
ABB has been awarded a contract worth around $30 million by the Canadian data and analytics company EarthDaily Analytics Corp. (EDA) to develop and manufacture next-generation multispectral imaging systems to be placed on 10 satellites (including an in-orbit spare) that will circle the Earth. The order was booked in the first quarter of 2022. Multispectral imaging systems capture data at specific light frequencies across a wide spectrum, and the EarthDaily Constellation network of satellites will be able to provide high-quality imagery in 22 spectral bands with resolution down to five meters. (2/17)

SpaceX to Launch SpaceLogistics Mission Extension Pod for Optus (Source: Space Daily)
Northrop Grumman Corporation's SpaceLogistics has announced a launch agreement for its Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) spacecraft, and the sale of its first Mission Extension Pod (MEP). Under the launch agreement, SpaceX will provide launch services for a planned spring 2024 launch of the MRV and several MEPs. Optus, Australia's largest satellite owner and operator, recently completed a purchase agreement with SpaceLogistics for installation of one of the MEPs on its D3 satellite in 2025. (2/23)

Falcon Heavy Likely to Launch NASA NGRST Telescope After ULA Skips Competition (Source: Teslarati)
On the heels of what will likely be NASA’s most significant telescope launch for at least a decade, the space agency appears to be about to select the launch provider for its next most expensive space telescope – a contract that SpaceX seems all but guaranteed to win.

Tory Bruno, CEO of the United Launch Alliance (ULA), revealed on February 15th that SpaceX’s chief competitor won’t even attempt to compete for the contract to launch NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (NGRST; formerly the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope or WFIRST). Named after Nancy Roman, who played a foundational role in the creation and launch of NASA’s famous Hubble Space Telescope, the Roman Space Telescope could potentially be the second most expensive NASA spacecraft launched this decade. (2/21)

Space Travel Business Not Expected to Slow Anytime Soon (Source: WISH)
Sinead O’Sullivan, a self-described “interplanetary economist” at Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, says spending money on space is actually a way to increase the economy on earth very, very efficiently. O’Sullivan notes, for example, that every dollar the government spends in the space industry translates to about $50 in societal value, such as skilled jobs and new products or services.

This year should be a big one for space exploration with a pair of massive rockets — both more powerful than the Saturn V that flew the Apollo astronauts to the moon — getting ready to fly as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Artemis mission. The mission aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2025. (2/21)

With Eyes on Reuse, Relativity Plans Rapid Transition to Terran R Engines (Source: Ars Technica)
Relativity Space intends to use the small Aeon 1 engine it is developing to power its first rocket for only a few flights. Instead, the company plans to quickly perform a "block upgrade" for the Terran 1 rocket, which will serve as a bridge to the much larger, more capable Terran R rocket. "We’ve always envisioned Terran 1 being a development platform," said Tim Ellis, the co-founder and chief executive of Relativity Space, in an interview with Ars.

The California-based company, which seeks to 3D-print the majority of its rocket parts, is continuing to work toward the first launch of Terran 1 this year. Powered by nine Aeon 1 rocket engines, this small rocket has a lift capacity of 1.25 metric tons to low Earth orbit. This first Terran 1 mission will not carry any customer payloads in order to focus on the rocket itself and is called "Good Luck, Have Fun." The name is a reference to what players say to one another before a video game begins, Ellis said.

The company also has the workforce to support both projects. When I first spoke to Ellis four years ago, the company had 17 employees. Now it has a workforce of 700 people and continues to grow. Engineers and technicians at Relativity are finalizing integration work on the first and second stages of the first Terran 1 rocket to launch. The second stage will soon ship to Stennis Space Center for tests. Ellis said the Aeon 1 engines have completed acceptance testing. He seemed confident that the company would be ready for "Good Luck, Have Fun" to launch this year from a launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (2/22)

A Sol in the Life of a Rover (Source: Space Daily)
What does Percy do all day? A Martian day- or Sol- is 24 hours and 37 minutes long, and while every Sol is different, each one is packed full of exciting science activities, observations, and discoveries! Let's follow Percy on Sol 345 (February 8th, 2022) to catch a glimpse into the daily life of a Martian explorer.

Percy woke up early in the morning at 02:07 LMST (Local Mean Solar Time on Mars) to conduct a data management activity for an onboard instrument called MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer), which uses a suite of sensors to monitor weather throughout the Sol. After a short nap, it was time to wake up again and send data from the previous Sol's observations down to scientists on Earth via Mars orbiters and the Deep Space Network (DSN). (2/20)

State Fight: Space Sector is Humming in Huntsville, Alabama (Source: Space News)
Rocket city doesn’t intend to give up its title. “Huntsville will continue to be a really important place for space in many regards, obviously on the propulsion and launch vehicles side of the house,” said Mike Ward, Huntsville Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for government and public affairs. Click here. (2/18)

State Fight: Colorado Wages International Campaign in Space Sector (Source: Space News)
Competition to attract space companies is going global. “Obviously, we are competing with our fellow states, but there’s even more competition for those companies that are looking for a U.S. location,” said Vicky Lea, aviation and aerospace director for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

In recent years, Astroscale, the Japanese space sustainability company, Kleos Space, a radiofrequency-monitoring firm based in Luxembourg, and ground station operator Kongsberg Satellite Services of Norway have opened offices in Colorado. In addition, Orbit Fab, a satellite refueling startup, announced plans in August to relocate to Denver from San Francisco. Click here. (2/18)

State Fight: Shoring up Florida’s Space Coast (Source: Space News)
When Terran Orbital was looking for a spot to build smallsats by the thousands, Florida offered the California company a $300 million financing package to open a massive new factory at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and Landing Facility. By 2030, Space Florida aims to have facilitated more than $10 billion in transactions to position the state for emerging space opportunities, including off-planet manufacturing, energy production and tourism. Click here. (2/20)

State Fight: Michigan Economic Plan Emphasizes Satellite Communications (Source: Space News)
Michigan colleges and universities offer extensive instruction in aerospace research and engineering. After college, though, many graduates leave the state for jobs in California, Florida and Texas. “We’re looking at building an entire ecosystem of value that supports growth and the retention of that talent that’s being trained here,” said Gavin Brown, executive director of the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association. Click here. (2/20)

State Fight: New Mexico’s Growing Reputation as a Space State (Source: Space News)
Federal space funding flows to New Mexico. The state is home to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Space Systems Command Innovation and Prototyping Directorate, the U.S. Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range. Additional space-related research is conducted at the Energy Department’s Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories. Click here. (2/19)

State Fight: SpaceX Brings Business to Brownsville, Texas (Source: Space News)
At the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, city officials in Brownsville, Texas, anticipated double-digit declines in sales and property tax revenues. To their surprise, residential property values, sales tax collections and hotel tax revenues have continued to climb. Much of the credit goes to SpaceX. Click here. (2/19)

Space Command Opens Office at Catalyst Campus in Colorado Springs (Source: The Gazette)
U.S. Space Command has opened a two-person office in the Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation to give the command more direct access to the products and services developed by companies at the campus. Catalyst Campus CEO Patrick Barrett said the Colorado Springs-based joint command plans this year to expand its office at the business park. About 50 companies operate in-person or virtual offices at Catalyst Campus — which range from small startups to operations of some of the nation’s largest defense contractors, — to develop defense technologies more quickly. (2/18)

Musk Donates Satellite Gear to Reconnect Tonga (Source: Space Daily)
Tonga says space entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk has donated 50 satellite terminals to help the volcano-damaged Pacific island reconnect with the world. Tonga's telecommunications system has been severely restricted since January 15 when a violent volcanic eruption and tsunami severed its underwater fibre-optic cable. Musk's Space X corporation is providing 50 very-small-aperture terminals (VSAT) "and we are looking at how we can best utilize it," Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said Friday. (2/18)

Brains Get 'Rewired' to Adapt to Long-Term Space Missions (Source: Space Daily)
Scientists have, for the first time, investigated structural changes in the brain after spaceflight at the level of deep-brain white matter tracts. White matter refers to the parts of the brain that are responsible for communication between gray matter and the body and between various gray matter regions. In short, white matter is the channel of communication of the brain and gray matter is where information processing is done.

To study brain structure and function after spaceflight, the researchers used a brain imaging technique called fiber tractography. "Fiber tractography gives a sort of wiring scheme of the brain. Our study is the first to use this specific method to detect changes in brain structure after spaceflight," explained Wuyts. Wuyts and his team acquired diffusion MRI (dMRI) scans of 12 male cosmonauts before and right after their spaceflights. They also collected eight follow-up scans, seven months after spaceflight. The cosmonauts all engaged in long-duration missions of an average length of 172 days.

The researchers found proof of the concept of 'the learned brain'; in other words, the level of neuroplasticity the brain has to adapt to spaceflight. "We found changes in the neural connections between several motor areas of the brain," said Andrei Doroshin. "Motor areas are brain centers where commands for movements are initiated. In weightlessness, an astronaut needs to adapt his or her movement strategies drastically, compared to Earth. Our study shows that their brain is rewired, so to speak." The follow-up scans revealed that after seven months of returning to Earth, these changes were still visible. (2/21)

NRAO and Optisys Partner Up to Produce 3D Devices for Radio Astronomy (Source: Space Daily)
Recent advancements in 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) for metallic structures make it possible to print all-metal electromagnetic devices-like antennas and waveguides-on demand. A new partnership between the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Optisys, LLC, headquartered in West Valley City, Utah, will explore the potential for leveraging this technology for radio astronomy applications.

In radio astronomy, the performance of antennas, waveguides, and other electromagnetic parts help determine the capability and sensitivity of radio telescopes and the quality of scientific data they deliver to researchers. The more capable and sensitive the antenna and other devices, the more scientists can learn about the Universe. NRAO's Central Development Laboratory (CDL) is continuously testing new technologies in pursuit of building better telescopes. (2/21)

Game-Changing Satellite Comms Technology From Aston and Pulse Power (Source: Space Daily)
Aston University has been working with Pulse Power and Measurement Ltd (PPM) through a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) to develop a game-changing approach to technology used in the radio-over-fibre communications industry. The project will look to transform the connection between low earth orbit (LEO) satellite antenna dishes and modems through optics rather than electronics, delivering performance, functionality and cost benefits.

A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified graduate, known as a KTP associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is the leading KTP provider within the Midlands. (2/18)

Scientists Map the Dark Matter Web Surrounding the Milky Way (Source: WIRED)
Scientists just completed the first part of a computer simulation of the dark-matter universe; it’s dubbed the Simulations Beyond the Local Universe project, or SIBELIUS, after the Finnish composer. The project was led by Stuart McAlpine and Till Sawala, both of whom previously conducted research with Frenk at Durham. Theirs isn’t just any dark-matter simulation, but one with galaxies modeled in it, providing a detailed, three-dimensional picture of what our galaxy and our corner of the universe likely looks like—if the standard view of cold dark matter is right.

“This is the first attempt to simulate our patch of the universe, with all the structures we know and love, including the Coma cluster and the Virgo cluster,” Frenk says, referring to large conglomerations of galaxies. Those kinds of cosmic landmarks, which lie tens of millions of light years from Earth or even farther away, might matter for understanding the assembly and evolution of our own galaxy over billions of years. They might also affect physicists’ perspective on how fast the universe is expanding.

The SIBELIUS simulation box is a big one, meant to resemble a 3D space that’s 3.3 billion light-years on a side. By design, in this virtual cosmos, we’re the center of the universe—the Milky Way resides in the middle, along with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. SIBELIUS is something called a “constrained realization,” meaning that simulations of these and other local galaxies must closely match what’s known about them in the real universe. (2/21)

Russia Wants to Give European Astronauts Independent Spaceflight Capability (Source: Ars Technica)
The leader of Russia's space program, Dmitry Rogozin, has suggested that Europe should use the venerable Soyuz rocket and spacecraft to get its astronauts into space, launching from ESA's Kourou spaceport. This all seems preposterous for a few reasons. First, this solution makes a mockery of the "independent" access sought by the European astronauts. It would require Russia to manufacture and deliver completed vehicles to the Europeans.

It's not clear why Rogozin believes this is a more independent solution than the European Space Agency simply buying seats on a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle. Second, Rogozin is making this suggestion at a time when Russia is on the verge of invading Ukraine. The geopolitics of the issue are complex, but this Russian gambit represents the greatest threat to European stability since World War II.

Finally, this idea has been considered before. Nearly two decades ago, during a much more benign political time, the possibility of using European-launched Soyuz spacecraft for missions was considered and ultimately rejected. In the present political climate, it would seem to be a nonstarter. Editor's Note: I understand the Soyuz launch infrastructure installed at Kourou was already designed with an eye toward eventually supporting crewed missions. (2/21)

NASA Successfully Retests Artemis 1 Moon Rocket Core Stage Engines After Fault (Source: Space.com)
All core stage rocket engines on NASA's moon rocket performed as expected in a recent series of tests that followed a replacement of a faulty control mechanism in one of those engines, the agency said. A faulty controller on the RS-25 engine number 4 forced the space agency to delay its upcoming uncrewed moon mission, Artemis I, which will mark the beginning of humanity's return to the moon.

The RS-25 engines, manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, are a legacy technology from the space shuttle era. There are four RS-25 engines powering the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) moon rocket. During the latest power up of the Artemis I SLS core stage, performed by NASA in cooperation with the engine-maker earlier this month, all four engine controllers performed as expected. (2/21)