February 9, 2022

Space Investments Continue Amid SPAC Losses (Source: Space News)
The beating that publicly traded space companies are taking on the stock market is not affecting private investment in the industry. Many space companies that went public in the last year through SPAC mergers are trading far below the price when they went public. An index of such companies created by Promus Ventures is down 42% in the last three months, compared to a decline of less than 5% for the S&P 500. Despite that, investors say there is still plenty of interest in private funding of space companies and no shortage of capital available for them, citing examples such as Iceye's $136 million Series D round last week. (2/9)

Spain's Sateliot Raises $11.4 Million for Smallsat Constellation (Source: Space News)
Spanish internet-of-things startup Sateliot has raised 10 million euros ($11.4 million) in a Series A round. The company raised the round in two tranches, closing the second recently after the first tranche was completed last December. Sateliot is planning a constellation of smallsats to provide IoT services in cooperation with mobile network operators. With funding from the Series A round, Sateliot is developing technology to merge satellite and mobile networks. (2/9)

Smallsat Operators Offer Resilience in Disaster Response (Source: Space News)
Operators of smallsat constellations believe they can provide resilient communications and Earth observation services in disasters. Panelists at the SmallSat Symposium Tuesday used the January eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano as an example of an event where satellites can step in where terrestrial services, like undersea communications cables, are disrupted. International space agencies and commercial satellite operators already share imagery and data with emergency responders and relief agencies when the United Nations activates the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, but some first responders and local governments contact satellite operators directly. (2/9)

Space Development Agency Experiment Demonstrates On-Orbit Data Processing (Source: Space News)
A data processor launched to orbit by the Space Development Agency has performed an early demonstration of autonomous data fusion in space, said one of the companies supporting the experiment. Scientific Systems Company Inc. (SSCI) developed an artificial intelligence-enabled edge computer for the experiment known as POET, short for prototype on-orbit experimental testbed.

The POET payload rode to orbit on a Loft Orbital satellite that launched June 30 on the SpaceX Transporter-2 rideshare mission. Autonomous data processing in space is a key technology sought by SDA so its satellites can analyze data ingested from third-party sources and send it back to users. (2/8)

SECAF Memo Suggests Policy Options for Space Council (Source: Breaking Defense)
Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall offered unsolicited space policy suggestions to Vice President Kamala Harris. The six-page memo from Kendall to Harris, who is chair of the National Space Council, is said to describe ideas for how DoD could support an element of the White House's space policy framework on leveraging commercial space capabilities. The Pentagon confirmed that Kendall sent the memo but did not disclose its contents other than calling it "a proactive effort by the department to support the Vice President." (2/9)

Momentus' Russian Co-Founder Invests in Hypersonic Startup (Source: Space News)
A Russian entrepreneur who founded several space companies has secured funding for a hypersonic plane startup. Swiss startup Destinus SA raised $29 million to support work on a hydrogen-powered vehicle designed to fly at hypersonic speeds. Destinus was founded by Mikhail Kokorich, who started companies Dauria Aerospace, Astro Digital, Helios Wire and Momentus. He and fellow Momentus co-founder Lev Khasis divested their shares in the company last year after the Defense Department raised concerns about the in-space transportation company's foreign ownership. (2/9)

Camden County Residents to Vote March 8 on Georgia Spaceport Property (Source: The Current)
Residents of a Georgia county will vote next month on the future of a proposed spaceport. A judge Tuesday concluded that a petition seeking to terminate an agreement between Camden County and Union Carbide to buy land for Spaceport Camden had enough signatures to allow a referendum to proceed under a provision of the state's constitution. Many residents oppose the spaceport, citing environmental and safety concerns. A vote to terminate the purchase agreement would effectively kill the spaceport project, which got its FAA license last December. The vote is scheduled for March 8. (2/9)

Virgin Galactic Hires Former Warner Brothers Executive (Source: Virgin Galactic)
Virgin Galactic has hired a former Warner Brothers executive to lead its commercial strategy. The company said Tuesday it hired Blair Rich as president and chief business officer for commercial and consumer operations. Rich worked for 23 years at Warner Brothers, most recently as president of worldwide marketing for its theatrical and home entertainment divisions. She will be responsible for the suborbital space tourism company's sales, marketing, business and product development, communications, operations and customer experience. (2/9)

Elon Musk Launched His Own Tesla Roadster to Space Four Years Ago. Where Is It Now? (Source: CNN)
Four years ago this week, the most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, made its inaugural launch from Florida and tore into outer space carrying nothing other than Elon Musk's personal Tesla roadster. The cherry red sports car — which is occupied by a spacesuit-clad mannequin nicknamed "Starman" — is still out there, taking a lonely, oblong orbital path around the sun, traveling as far away as Mars' orbit and, at other times, as close as Earth's orbit.

The car is not on some scientific voyage. This was a test launch, so SpaceX needed a dummy payload — and Musk previously said he wanted it to be the "[s]illiest thing we can imagine." So he picked his own luxurious Tesla roadster. As of Monday, the roadster was about 234 million miles from Earth and about 200 million miles from Mars, passing through a no-man's land of outer space, according to the tracking website whereisroadster.com, which uses NASA's data to keep tabs on the car. (2/8)

Funk and Mars Helicopter Team Win Collins Trophy (Source: NASM)
Wally Funk and the Mars Ingenuity helicopter team are winners of awards from the National Air and Space Museum. The museum is giving Funk its Michael Collins Trophy for Lifetime Achievement for her long career in aviation and her suborbital spaceflight last year on the first crewed Blue Origin New Shepard launch. Ingenuity is receiving the Michael Collins Trophy for Current Achievements for its ongoing flights on Mars, the first powered aircraft flights on another planet. (2/8)

Olay Unveils Statue of Trailblazing Rocket Engineer Mary Golda Ross (Source: CollectSpace)
In life, Mary Golda Ross helped develop a rocket stage that served as a rendezvous and docking target for astronauts preparing to go to the moon. Now, a new statue of the trailblazing Native American woman will help steer a new generation toward the stars. Olay, the skin care company, unveiled a new statue of Ross on Feb. 7, ahead of it going on public display on Feb. 23 at the First Americans Museum in Ross' home state of Oklahoma. The monument was designed with advice from the staff at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to ensure that it was historically accurate. (2/6)

Will China’s Tall Space Goals Spur Further Competition? (Source: Eurasia Review)
On domestic space governance, a new space strategy white paper said that China will accelerate the process of developing a domestic space law including making regulations on satellite navigation, strengthening the management of satellite navigation activities, revising measures for the registration of space objects, and regulating the sharing and use of space data and the licensing of civil space launches, management of satellite frequency and orbit resources, as well as coordination and registration of resources to protect China’s rights and interests.

China is also using space as a major tool in furthering its diplomacy and national interests. Outreach in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan in South Asia found a number of mentions in the white paper. For instance, it said that Beijing will “give priority to developing communications satellites for Pakistan and to cooperating on the construction of the Pakistan Space Centre and Egypt’s Space City.” (2/8)

Why Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Endorsed a Virginia Congressional Candidate (Source: The Hill)
Recently, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine endorsed Virginia Republican John Henley for the House of Representatives. Why did Bridenstine, who hewed to a strict, nonpartisan posture when he led the space agency, seemingly dip his toe back into partisan politics? The answer is that Bridenstine, a canny politician, appears to be playing the long game to make sure that space policy is given the attention that it is due in Congress by supporting a man with knowledge and experience in that area.

Bridenstine is unique in that he became NASA chief out of the world of politics — a former Republican congressman of Oklahoma. NASA administrators have tended to be engineers like Thomas Paine or Dan Goldin; former astronauts like Richard Truly and Charles Bolden; or government bureaucrats such as James Webb and Sean O’Keefe. Bridenstine’s political experience served him and the space agency in good stead when he ran NASA. Ironically, his status as a politician almost caused him to be denied confirmation as NASA administrator. (2/7)

Geomagnetic Storm Could Sink Starlink Satellites Launched Last Week (Source: SpaceX)
On 3 Feb. a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The rocket deployed the satellites into their intended orbit, with a perigee of ~210 kilometers above Earth, and each satellite achieved controlled flight. SpaceX deploys its satellites into these lower obits so that in the very rare case any satellite does not pass initial system checkouts it will quickly be deorbited by atmospheric drag. While the low deployment altitude requires more capable satellites at a considerable cost to us, it’s the right thing to do to maintain a sustainable space environment.

Unfortunately, the satellites deployed on Thursday were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic storm on Friday. These storms cause the atmosphere to warm and atmospheric density at our low deployment altitudes to increase. In fact, onboard GPS suggests the severity of the storm caused atmospheric drag to increase up to 50 percent higher than during previous launches. The Starlink team commanded the satellites into a safe-mode where they would fly edge-on (like a sheet of paper) to minimize drag—to effectively “take cover from the storm”—and continued to work closely with the Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron and LeoLabs to provide updates on the satellites based on ground radars.

Preliminary analysis show the increased drag at the low altitudes prevented the satellites from leaving safe-mode to begin orbit raising maneuvers, and up to 40 of the satellites will reenter or already have reentered the Earth’s atmosphere. The deorbiting satellites pose zero collision risk with other satellites and by design demise upon atmospheric reentry—meaning no orbital debris is created and no satellite parts hit the ground. This unique situation demonstrates the great lengths the Starlink team has gone to ensure the system is on the leading edge of on-orbit debris mitigation. (2/8)

UK Space Innovation Gets Significant Boost at Westcott (Source: Catapult)
The Satellite Applications Catapult is pleased to announce its expansion at Westcott Venture Park due to a £5.7m investment in new facilities. ‘Building 4000’ is set to house an In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing facility alongside the expansion of the Healthy and Agri Living Labs. These exciting initiatives will help the UK secure a 10% share of the global space market. The £5.7m investment, funded by £2m from the Getting Building Fund (GBF) through the Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and £3.7m private sector investment from PATRIZIA Hanover PUT, signals the UK’s steadfast commitment to grow its unique space ecosystem. (2/7)

China Plans More Than 50 Space Launches in 2022 (Source: Space News)
China’s main space contractor aims to launch at least 140 spacecraft across more than 50 launches in 2022 following its busiest year in space so far. The updated target, coupled with the launch plans of other Chinese state-owned enterprises and new private firms, means China could potentially exceed 60 launches in 2022. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation revealed the plans in an annual ‘blue book’ on space activities, released Feb. 9. CASC in early January stated plans to launch more than 40 times and has conducted two launches so far. (2/8)

What Super Bowl LVI Would Look Like If It Was Played on Mars (Source: LX.com)
Can you play football on Mars? Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance, explains what the Super Bowl would look like on the red planet versus Earth. Click here. (2/8)

Asteroid Sharing Earth's Orbit Discovered - Could it Help Future Space Missions? (Source: Space Daily)
Research has shown that the Earth trails an asteroid barely a kilometre across in its orbit about the Sun - only the second such body to have ever been spotted. It goes round the Sun on average two months ahead of the Earth, dancing around in front like an excited herald of our coming. This object, known as 2020 XL5, was first spotted in December 2020 using Pan-STARRS telescopes on the summit of Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui. But determination of its orbit required follow-up observations using the 4.1-metre SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research) telescope in Chile.

Based on this data, a team led by planetary scientist Toni Santana-Ros of the University of Alicante in Spain has now announced that 2020 XL5 is trapped for at least the next several thousand years in an orbit about one of the Sun-Earth "Lagrange points". However, the study points out that if other Earth Trojans are found in orbits that are less tilted, these might make handy bases as staging posts for exploration of the Solar System. They'd be much easier to take off from than from the Earth or Moon because their gravity is so slight. They could even be a source of resources that we could mine. (2/9)

Gilmour Space, SENER Aeroespacial to develop Autonomous Flight Termination System for Eris Rocket (Source: Space Daily)
SENER Aeroespacial, a company of the SENER engineering and technology group, and Australian launch services company Gilmour Space Technologies, are working together on an Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) for the Eris launch vehicle, which is being developed for the small satellite market. The AFTS is a smart Hardware/Software unit with autonomous decision-making capacity responsible for aborting a flight if any anomalies are identified. This system is of the highest criticality and will be subjected to a strict certification process. (2/9)