March 24, 2022

Is Space The Next Frontier For Agriculture And Biology? (Source: Forbes)
The space industry has been pressing on with experiments and projects that could have a huge impact on the future of humanity – both here on Earth and when we are eventually ready to head out and settle other worlds. The ISS, for example, is currently home to around 200 experiments. These include studying the long-term impact of exposure to low-gravity environments to measuring carbon dioxide levels on Earth. A significant number of them are focused on food and agriculture – once we do eventually leave this planet for settlements on the moon or even Mars, it would probably be useful if we knew how to grow food once we get there!

However, that isn’t the only reason. It’s quickly becoming apparent that even on Earth, we’re going to run into difficulties when it comes to feeding an ever-growing population, particularly when we take into account climate change and global warming. It’s hoped that experiments in space will lead to new developments and scientific breakthroughs that will help to keep us fed and healthy wherever we end up in the universe.

So how will space help us to develop new methods of biotechnology and agriculture? Ilan Sobel tells me that one avenue is that the "microgravity environments" would enable plants to grow in different ways, which could create new utility values for them. Sobel's company has demonstrated that supplements created from grape cells that grow in bioreactors have the effect of increasing blood flow, improving overall cardiovascular health. Bioharvest is now developing methods to create a whole range of secondary metabolites, which include polyphenols and phytochemicals under these conditions. (3/24)

Orbital Assembly Relocates to Huntsville with State and Local Incentives (Source: Orbital Assembly)
Orbital Assembly Corp., the only company advancing the development and operation of the first commercially viable, space-based business park with gravity, is relocating its headquarters and facilities from Rocklin, California to Huntsville, Alabama, home of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. The company negotiated $3 million worth of incentives from state and local governments to develop the Gravity Ring, which is also an essential structural component of its future Pioneer and Voyager space parks.

OAC will be headquartered at 4001 Market Street in Huntsville and plans to expand into larger facilities to drive development of gravity-enabled structures that will ultimately be constructed in space. Company executives have already relocated, and others will make the move in the near future. Huntsville was selected after a rigorous search for a variety of reasons. As home to hundreds of aerospace companies and vendors, it offers a highly experienced technical workforce. Many of the company’s partners, ULA, Sierra Space, Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and others are located there. Access to the large-scale testing and validation hardware is available as the company develops its manned stations (3/23)

NASA Expands Artemis Lunar Plans (Source: NASA)
As NASA makes strides to return humans to the lunar surface under Artemis, the agency announced plans Wednesday to create additional opportunities for commercial companies to develop an astronaut Moon lander. Under this new approach, NASA is asking American companies to propose lander concepts capable of ferrying astronauts between lunar orbit and the lunar surface for missions beyond Artemis III, which will land the first astronauts on the Moon in more than 50 years.

Built and operated according to NASA’s long-term requirements at the Moon, new landers will have the capability to dock to a lunar orbiting space station known as Gateway, increase crew capacity, and transport more science and technology to the surface. The agency is pursuing two parallel paths for continuing lunar lander development and demonstration, one that calls for additional work under an existing contract with SpaceX, and another open to all other U.S. companies to provide a new landing demonstration mission from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon. (3/23)

Vulcan Centaur On Schedule for First Launch in 2022 as New Glenn Slips (Source: Space News)
ULA remains confident that its Vulcan Centaur rocket will make its first launch this year while Blue Origin is pushing back the first flight of its New Glenn vehicle. Tory Bruno, chief executive of ULA, said that he expected the first launch of the Vulcan “later this year,” but did not offer a more specific schedule. That schedule is driven by the completion of testing of the BE-4 engine. “The engine is in great shape,” Bruno said. “It is performing better than I anticipated.”

Bruno said he expected to receive the first two flight models of the BE-4 in the middle of the year, “which supports me flying before the end of the year.” He added that testing of the engine is also going well, including firing of the engine three times a week “on a sustained basis” at a Blue Origin test site. While Vulcan remains publicly on schedule for a first launch in 2022, Jones ruled out any chance that New Glenn will launch before the end of the year, a schedule that the company had previously cast doubt on. “The runway is closing on 2022,” Jones said. (3/23)

Florida Senator to File Bill to Punish Countries Like Russia for Space Debris (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The fallout from the debris created when a Russian weapons test threatened the International Space Station last fall could mean countries will face sanctions if a similar event happens in the future. That’s the goal of the Deterring Errant Behavior Risking International Space Act, or the DEBRIS Act, set to be filed as early as Thursday by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), according to his staff.

“We must punish reckless space behavior. Russia and China should be held accountable for negligently creating space debris and endangering space assets critical to our national security,” Rubio said in an email. “My bill would create consequences for this dangerous behavior and protect our astronauts and space infrastructure.” The November incident, during which an old Russian satellite was destroyed by a missile, ended up creating more than 1,500 pieces of debris. (3/23)

FCC Expands to Support Constellation Applications, With Perhaps Less Attention to Traffic and Debris Issues (Source: Space Intel Report)
The U.S. FCC is increasing its Satellite Division staff by 38% to handle the increased number and complexity of satellite network license applications, and is determined to open higher-frequency radio spectrum for satellite broadband use, a senior FCC official said. Umair Javed, chief counsel to FFC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, said the agency’s V-band processing round for non-geostationary-orbit (NGSO) networks, launched in August, has received applications for “more than 38,000 satellites that will offer global broadband.” However, the agency has been silent on the looming issues of traffic management and debris mitigation. (3/24)

Indonesia's PSN Orders Boeing Satellite with SpaceX Launch (Source: Space News)
Indonesia's Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) said Wednesday it ordered a high-throughput satellite from Boeing to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2023. The Nusantara Lima Satellite, based on Boeing's 702MP platform, will deliver 160 gigabits per second of capacity across the Indonesian archipelago and surrounding countries. It will augment the SATRIA-1 satellite under construction by Thales Alenia Space for launch in 2023. (3/24)

Spain's Hispasat to Acquire AXESS Networks (Source: Space News)
Spanish satellite operator Hispasat is buying managed services provider AXESS Networks. Hispasat this week it is buying AXESS, which operates several teleports, in a deal that values it at $96 million. The acquisition brings Hispasat closer to end-users as a solutions and services provider amid rapid technological change in the industry. Hispasat's CEO says the company is open to more acquisitions that vertically integrate its business. (3/24)

York Offered In-House Production for DoD Transport Layer Satellites (Source: Space News)
In-house manufacturing likely allowed York Space Systems to bid a much lower price than competitors for a Space Development Agency satellite contract. Frank Turner, technical director at SDA, said York Space was the only one of three companies that won Transport Layer Tranche 1 contracts last month that can build those satellites in its own facilities. York Space's contract, worth $392 million, was far less than the $700 million contract awarded to Lockheed Martin and $692 million to Northrop Grumman, all for the same number of satellites. He said the three companies selected ranked first, third and fourth on pricing from a total of eight bids. (3/24)

Astronauts Continue ISS Maintenance Spacewalk After Helmet Issue (Source: CBS)
Two astronauts completed most of the work planned for a spacewalk Wednesday after recovering from a spacesuit problem. Raja Chari and Matthias Maurer started the spacewalk at 8:32 a.m. Eastern but spent the first hour fixing a loose helmet camera on Maurer's suit. The two were still able to complete the major tasks during the nearly seven-hour EVA, such as attaching hoses on a radiator module and replacing an external camera, but some low-priority tasks were deferred. After going back inside the station, astronauts reported there was water building up inside Maurer's helmet, but much less than the leak that threatened Luca Parmitano during a 2013 spacewalk. (3/24)

Ursa Raises $16 Million (Source: Space News)
Geospatial intelligence company Ursa Space raised $16 million in a Series C round. Dorilton Ventures led the round with participation from existing investors such as Razor's Edge Ventures, RRE Ventures and Paladin Capital Group. Ursa creates products and services using optical, SAR and radio-frequency satellite data. Ursa will use the funding to expand its staff and invest in speeding up delivery of analysis-ready satellite data. (3/24)

Ukraine's Promin Aerospace Juggling Launcher Development and National Defense (Source: Space News)
A Ukrainian launch startup is juggling vehicle development work with defending the country from Russia's invasion. The staff of Promin Aerospace are taking on tasks ranging from coordinating aid to participating in patrols as part of Ukraine's territorial defense. The company, though, is also continuing work on a small launch vehicle, with a suborbital test flight planned for November. (3/24)

Goals for Seamlless Satellite and Terrestrial Networks (Source: Space News)
Satellite mobility providers expect to offer customers seamless transitions between terrestrial and satellite networks within a decade. During a panel at Satellite 2022 this week, executives predicted that 5G-based networks that combined satellite and terrestrial infrastructure would be available in 5 to 10 years. While universal connectivity is possible, it will require significant collaboration among satellite communications and terrestrial communications firms as well as satellite equipment manufacturers. Standards, which would ease the task, are controversial among satellite mobility providers, with some arguing that standards would constrain innovation. (3/24)

Astronomers Concerned About Environmental Impact (Source: NPR)
Astronomers are grappling with how their work contributes to climate change. A new study concluded that the carbon footprint of astronomical research is the equivalent of 20 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, the same as countries like Bulgaria and Estonia. Large observatories account for the bulk of those emissions, along with travel to those observatories and conferences and other events. Authors of the study called on funding agencies to perform environmental assessments of observatories and take steps to use alternative energy sources to reduce their carbon footprints. (3/24)

Roscosmos To Require Payments In Rubles On Foreign Contracts (Source: Sputnik)
Russian space agency Roscosmos will now seek payment in rubles when doing business with foreign entities and countries, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said. Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that all gas contracts will be in rubles and ordered the government to instruct Gazprom to make the relevant changes to existing deals. "We will now also conclude all of our foreign contracts with the ruble (as Currency)," Rogozin said. (3/23)