March 26, 2022

Port Canaveral Begins Construction of New Berth - a Home for Blue Origin's Ship? (Source: SPACErePORT)
Officials from the Canaveral Port Authority joined with leaders from federal, state, and municipal government, along with business and space industry representatives to ceremonially break ground on a massive project to rebuild Port Canaveral’s North Cargo Berth 3 (NCB3). The Port Authority awarded a $48 million contract to RUSH Marine for the NCB3 project. NCB3 will be capable of accommodating vessels up to 984 ft. long. Total development cost of the project is $48 million.

The Port Authority received a $14 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, and $33 million in a grant from the Florida Dept. of Transportation. Not mentioned in the project's media brief was the potential for this refurbished berth to become Port Canaveral's home to Jacklyn, the ~600 ft. long ship now being prepared at a port in Pensacola FL to support landing operations for Blue Origin's New Glenn. There are few, if any, other options at Port Canaveral for Jacklyn. (3/26)

EGS, Jacobs Preparing Artemis 1 Vehicle at Pad for Final Pre-Launch Countdown Test (Source: NasaSpaceFlight.com)
The launch team, made up of people from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs, is preparing to conduct the final test prior to the launch of the Artemis 1 mission to the Moon. Following the rollout of the first integrated Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida overnight on March 17 into March 18, the Artemis 1 vehicle and the Mobile Launcher are being connected to pad services and powered up for testing.

The launch control team is conducting the tests out of firing rooms in the Launch Control Center of Launch Complex 39, while ground support crews are overseeing hands-on work at the pad. The vehicle was rolled to the pad for a last big test; a full countdown demonstration called the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR). Currently scheduled for April 1 through April 3, the test will culminate with propellant loading and a near-complete countdown. (3/24)

For Artemis Moon Missions, Science Will Reign Supreme (Source: Space.com)
Should Artemis 1 go to plan, NASA hopes to launch Artemis 2 in 2024 for a round-the-moon crewed trip, followed by Artemis 3 touching down on the lunar surface no earlier than 2025. (A 2026 lunar landing is probably more likely recent issues identified by NASA's inspector general.) Jacob Bleacher emphasized that whenever the moonbound astronauts arrive on the moon's surface, they will have a much different focus than the agency's Apollo astronauts which last touched down on the moon in 1972.

"This is not simply returning to the moon. This is boldly exploring a new area that we've never been to, and it will require new and creative approaches," Bleacher said. For example, the astronauts will land near the lunar south pole and, eventually, will likely be tasked with trying to "live off the land" and using local resources such as ice to support operations and human living. Crew training for the Artemis astronauts, he added, includes an emphasis on the "science perspective" of these missions from the beginning. This will ensure that astronauts with less scientific experience will have the time to accumulate that experience.

"We would like that bring them up to speed as much as we can, and so that includes not just training them at the last minute to pick up the right rocks on the moon. It's not — I think you all know — that's not how science works. You can't just learn it all at the last second," he said. Bleacher emphasized that this training is ongoing and that astronauts train consistently for long periods of time, rather than being tasked with learning something and then being asked to relearn it a few years later. This approach, he said, is to avoid trying "to cram a bunch of stuff in at the end." (3/25)

NASA Orders Additional Cargo Flights to Space Station (Source: NASA)
NASA has ordered 12 additional missions under its Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contracts to ensure continuous science and cargo delivery for the agency and its international partners to the International Space Station. The 12 additional missions ordered – six each to Northrop Grumman and SpaceX – will provide resupply services to the station through 2026.

In 2016, NASA awarded three American companies CRS-2 contracts to resupply the International Space Station so crew members can continue to conduct science research and technology development that benefits people on Earth and supports human missions to the Moon and Mars. While the maximum potential value of all contracts is $14 billion, NASA orders missions as needed, and the total prices paid under the contract will depend on which mission types are ordered.

On Oct. 16, 2020, NASA ordered two additional missions from Northrop Grumman, and three additional missions from SpaceX beyond the minimum guaranteed. With this action, a total of 32 missions have been ordered by the agency for cargo resupply missions under the CRS-2 contracts with 14 missions to Northrop Grumman, three missions to Sierra Nevada Corp. (now Sierra Space), and 15 missions to SpaceX. (3/25)

Documents Reveal NASA’s Internal Struggles Over Renaming Webb Telescope (Source: Nature)
Internal NASA documents reveal fresh details about the agency’s investigation last year into whether to rename its flagship James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). A group of astronomers had led a community petition to change the name, alleging that former NASA chief James Webb had been complicit in the persecution and firing of gay and lesbian federal employees during his career in the US government in the 1950s and 1960s.

In September, NASA announced that it would not change the name of the telescope, because it had no evidence to support the allegations. But the agency controversially did not release a report summarizing its investigation or decision-making. The documents obtained through freedom-of-information (FOI) requests show that, while making its decision, the agency was aware of a 1969 appeals ruling suggesting that it had been customary at NASA to fire people over suspicions about their sexual orientation. The case involved a former NASA employee who had been fired in 1963 because supervisors thought he was gay. This was when Webb was leading the agency.

NASA’s acting chief historian, Brian Odom, says he has not found any information in NASA’s archives to suggest that firing people for their sexual orientation was agency policy under Webb. He and a contract historian, whose identity has not been disclosed, will soon visit other historical archives to continue to look into Webb’s history. These archives have been closed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic but will open again in the next few weeks. Odom says he will share information about what the historians find with the astronomy community. (3/25)

Sorry, You Can’t Eat These Popular Foods on the ISS (Source: Popular Science)
To date, no astronaut has ever gotten a food-borne illness in space. However an astronaut’s diet isn’t necessarily a bland one. On any given day, the ISS’s pantry-style dining setup has about 200 dishes an astronaut can choose to eat. This freeze-dried buffet accounts for about 70-75 percent of all the crew’s meals. The rest mostly comes from crew-specific menu food—each astronaut is able to make a kind of culinary wishlist, and request certain foods or drinks they want for the duration of their mission. Click here. (3/25)

Dealing with Russia's Titanium Cutoff (Source: Aviation Week)
Investors have become more and more concerned about the availability of Russian-supplied titanium since the country's forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and as Boeing and Airbus ramp up production rates. Over the past month or so, an array of observers have suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin could shut down the commercial aerospace business. Such statements are based largely on the fact that VSMPO-Avisma—part of Russian state-owned enterprise Rostec—is the largest titanium supplier to the commercial aerospace end market.

But one of our industry contacts says Boeing and Airbus potentially have “a few years’” worth of titanium on hand. Six days before Russia invaded Ukraine,  the chief commercial and market officer  of Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) noted a surplus of titanium in commercial aerospace and suggested that it could take a couple of years before a titanium supply/demand imbalance would emerge for airframes or engines. (3/17)

Russian Space Chief Says Cooperation with Europe Now Impossible (Source: Reuters)
Russia's space director said on Thursday that Europe had wrecked cooperation by imposing sanctions against his agency, and rockets that were meant to launch European satellites would now be used for Russian companies or countries friendly to Moscow. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, said in a Chinese television interview that this would apply to about 10 rockets.

"At this moment, after the European Space Agency and the whole European Union have taken a frenzied position on the conduct of (Russia's) special military operation in Ukraine and introduced sanctions against Roscosmos, we consider further cooperation impossible," Rogozin said. The space rift has had a tangible impact since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and was hit with a wave of international sanctions. (3/24)

Khrunichev Center Continues Cooperating with Boeing on ISS (Source: TASS)
No preconditions are in place for termination of the contract between the Russia’s Khrunichev Space Center and Boeing on operation of the Zarya functional cargo module of the International Space Station (ISS), said ISS Program Director of the Center Sergey Shaevich. "Contacts with Boeing representatives are kept on a regular basis; no preconditions for termination of the contract are in place," Shaevich said.

The Zarya module is integrated with Russian and US segments of ISS, the Program Director said. "Any changes in cooperation between the Khrunichev Center and Boeing may take place only in case of the change in relations between Roscosmos and NASA on the International Space Station," Shaevich added. (3/25)

‘Boxed Into a Corner,’ Russia Could Be a Counterspace Wild Card (Source: Air Force Magazine)
China’s space infrastructure has made it more of a military match for the U.S. than Russia, in terms of space, but Russia presents more of an “unknown,” especially as it’s “boxed into a corner” in its invasion of Ukraine, said Maj. Gen. Leah G. Lauderback. As the Space Force’s senior intelligence officer for its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance “enterprise,” which amounts to about 800 people, she said she tries to instill a “warfighting mentality”—specifically, “How do we defend the capabilities that we have?” (3/24)

Ukraine Crisis Bolsters Case for Keeping Space Command in Colorado, Lawmakers Tell Biden (Source: Colorado Newsline)
All nine members of Colorado’s congressional delegation say keeping U.S. Space Command in the state is the best move for national security in light of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The letter has the support from the three Republicans and six Democrats who make up the delegation, a rare instance of bipartisan unity.

“We remain deeply troubled that the decision to relocate USSPACECOM undermined the two most important factors for any critical basing decision: protecting national security and minimizing cost,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to President Joe Biden on Tuesday. “At a time when threats in space are rapidly increasing, particularly from Russia and China, USSPACECOM cannot afford any operational interruptions and must achieve Full Operational Capability (FOC) as quickly as possible.”

They argue that Colorado is best poised to support the Space Command mission because of existing assets such as the National Space Defense Center and the National Reconnaissance Office’s Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado. Last August, Space Command achieved initial operational capability, meaning it is in its minimum usefully deployable form. (3/23)

United Colorado Stands... About Space Command (Source: Colorado Politics)
While there is increasing evidence that some of Trump’s grip on the heartbeat of the Republican party might just be weakening a bit for some members, generally you can count on our most junior House member, Lauren Boebert, to always remain loyal to Trump and to offer a rant or two in defense of the alleged genius of the man. So, it is a bit of a surprise to see that the entire delegation signed a letter to President Biden, asking him to undo one very specific action Trump took in the last few days of his time as president. What can unite everyone? Space, as it turns out.

As a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who started my military career in the ICBM/space world, I'm very familiar with the massive investment the Department of Defense has made in Colorado in terms of space operations and such. But if you live outside the five-military-base area around Colorado Springs, you might be surprised to learn that billions have been spent on, well, I’ll just say really cool technologies around space operations, and that they are almost entirely controlled (directly or indirectly) from bases in Colorado. (3/25)

Findings From First of Two Investigations Into Space Command Basing Decision Expected Early April (Source: The Gazette)
Nearly 15 months after then-President Donald Trump announced U.S. Space Command would be moved from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., findings from the first of two investigations into potential political influence on the decision are expected in early April. “There is a rumor going around that it will have some findings that will be favorable to Colorado Springs,” said Stan VanderWerf, chairman of the Board of El Paso County Commissioners.

The Government Accountability Office and the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General are both reviewing Trump’s decision. It is unclear which report will come out first. Regardless, Colorado Springs is the provisional home of U.S. Space Command — which oversees all military missions in orbit — until at least 2026. VanderWerf said taxpayer cost and mission viability are two main reasons Space Command and its 1,400 troops should stay in Colorado Springs. (3/24)

Australia Space Command Looks Down at China, Russia (Source: Asia Times)
This month Australia established a new Defense Space Command to develop its military space capabilities to protect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets such as satellites against perceived adversaries such as China and Russia. Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said that the new unit will expand Australia’s space capabilities and contribute to “a larger, collective effort among like-minded countries to ensure a safe, stable and secure space domain.”

Underscoring the importance of outer space in contemporary military operations, Australian Chief of the Defense Force General Angus Campbell stated that Australia “must be able to generate space power across the defense portfolio, supporting the joint force, whole of government, allies and international partners” and that the new Space Command must “also protect billions of dollars worth of commercial and military assets against space debris, collisions, and destructive acts.” (3/24)

Sulfur From Dino-Killing Asteroid Caused Way More Global Ccooling Than Thought (Source: Space.com)
When the dinosaur-destroying asteroid collided with Earth 66 million years ago, massive amounts of sulfur — volumes more than were previously thought — were thrown high above land into the stratosphere, a new study finds. Once airborne, this vast cloud of sulfur-bearing gases blocked the sun and cooled Earth for decades to centuries, then fell down as lethal acid rain on Earth, changing the chemistry of the oceans for tens of thousands of years, which is longer than previously thought, the study found. (3/24)

Bizarre Space Circle Captured in Unprecedented Detail (Source: Nature)
Astronomers have captured a close-up image of a rare and mysterious space object, prompting a renewed push to discover its origin. Odd radio circles (ORCs) are gigantic rings of radio waves. Only five have ever been sighted, and never in such spectacular detail. The image of ORC J2103-6200, also called ORC1, was captured by the high-resolution MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, which has given researchers unprecedented information about these rare phenomena. Click here. (3/25)

Atlanta and Paris Selected As Next Site For Space-Related Startup Program (Source: Hyperpotamus)
Atlanta is about to embark on its own type of space race, thanks to a new program housed at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business. Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), an international organization for startup founders, is expanding its Space Stream into Atlanta and Paris. It aims to be the largest concentration of seed-stage space-focused ventures in the world. The Space Stream has operated in Toronto for the last four years under the leadership of former NASA astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield and has worked with 27 space-related startups to date.

CDL will look to recruit 20 new ventures through the international expansion. Lydia Turkié, CDL-Atlanta’s Director, said the program’s overall goal is to launch 150 companies that create over $700 million in equity value by 2026.Atlanta is a natural expansion site for CDL’s cosmic ambitions. Georgia Tech alone has 1,400 current students studying in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, making it the largest of the top US university programs. It has also produced 14 astronauts and multiple space-focused and aerospace startup ventures.

The wider Georgia Tech community is also invested, as Turkié said Scheller College of Business recently launched a Space Club for students interested in the industry. The Southeast’s wider space community was another draw for selecting Atlanta. Six out of NASA’s fifteen centers and facilities are located in the region, including the famed Kennedy Space Center and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Other Southeast space hubs include Florida High Tech Corridor, the Tennessee Space Institute, Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, and multiple universities with aerospace programs and majors. (3/25)

The Right Stuff (Source: RadioLab)
Since the beginning of the space program, we’ve always expected astronauts to be fully abled athletic overachievers who are one-part science-geek, two-parts triathlete – a mix the writer Tom Wolfe famously called “the right stuff.” But what if, this whole time, we’ve had it all wrong? Andrew Leland joins a blind linguistics professor named Sheri Wells-Jensen and a crew of eleven other disabled people on a mission to prove that disabled people have what it takes to go to space. And not only that, but that they may have an edge over non-disabled people. Click here. (3/25)

Omega and Swatch Introduce MoonSwatch (Source: CollectSpace)
The first wristwatch worn on the moon has taken a new giant leap... towards affordability. Omega, the Swiss watchmaker behind the Speedmaster Professional that was selected by NASA for use on the Apollo lunar landings, has collaborated with its sister company Swatch to create the MoonSwatch, a collection of solar system-inspired watches based on the Moonwatch, but available for a fraction of the price.

"Omega's Moonwatch is legendary and a must-have for collectors. Swatch's witty bioceramic MoonSwatch collection makes the iconic design accessible to fans everywhere," Swatch officials said in statement. "It's a down to earth take on the watch that went to the moon, which is a perfect representation of Swatch's joy of life and innovation philosophy." What really separates the MoonSwatch from its inspiration, though, is its price tag. The open-edition watches retail for $260 each. By comparison, the Speedmaster Professional is listed at $6,400. (3/24)