March 3, 2022

Embry-Riddle's Research Park Boasts Big Returns in New Economic Impact Study (Source: ERAU)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Research Park generated $137 million of total economic impact in Florida last year — a 50% increase from 2019 — according to a study conducted by The Washington Economics Group. “By achieving a 50% increase in economic impacts in only three years, Embry-Riddle and its successful research park are fulfilling our vision to advance innovation and new business opportunities,” said Mori Hosseini, Embry-Riddle’s Board of Trustees chairman. “We are indebted to the State of Florida for their continuing support of Embry-Riddle’s efforts to promote economic progress and improve quality of life for all Floridians.”

The university’s research park generates significant economic activity that supports $14 million in tax revenues for federal, state and local governments, the economic impacts study concludes. Targeting high-growth sectors, the research park also supports more than 700 jobs overall, both directly and indirectly — up nearly 40% from 2019, when 503 jobs were supported. The cornerstone of the Research Park, the John Mica Engineering and Aerospace Innovation Complex (MicaPlex) has directly created more than 120 high-paying jobs, with an average salary over $78,000, spread throughout 22 advanced-technology companies that inhabit the space. Those firms have already attracted more than $46 million in outside investment. (3/1)

Rocket Lab Reports Increased Revenue, Net Loss, New Launch and Satellite Orders (Source: Space News)
Rocket Lab reported 2021 revenue of $62.2 million, a 77% jump from 2020, as well as a net loss of $117.8 million, more than double the firm's 2020 loss. Rocket Lab's backlog of launch and satellite orders rose to $241 million at the end of 2021 from $82 million a year earlier. (3/1)

CesiumAstro Raises $60 Million to Expand Manufacturing (Source: Space News)
CesiumAstro Inc. raised $60 million in a Series B funding round led by Airbus Ventures and Forever Ventures. L3Harris Technologies participated in the round alongside existing CesiumAstro investors: Kleiner Perkins, Lavrock Ventures, Franklin Templeton Blackhorse Fund and Heico Corp. With the additional funding, CesiumAstro plans to expand manufacturing, establish offices in the U.S. and Europe, and begin building satellites in-house. (3/2)

SpaceX Launches More Starlink Satellites From Florida (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on its sixth Starlink mission of the year Thursday. Liftoff was at 9:25 a.m. amid hazy blue skies, with the rocket taking a southerly trajectory. The company successfully reused the first-stage booster for the 11th time, landing in the Atlantic on the droneship Just Read the Instructions. (3/3)

Rogozin to Halt Russian Rocket Engine Sales to US (Source: SPACErePORT)
Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin said Thursday that Russia would halt sales of Russian rocket engines to US launch companies. "Let them fly on their brooms," he said. Russian RD-180 engines currently power ULA's Atlas-5 first stage and RD-181 engines power Northrop Grumman's Antares rockets. ULA says they have already received all the Russian engines they will need to close out the Atlas program. ULA will use Blue Origin-built engines for their Vulcan rockets. Northrop last year was negotiating with Russia for upgraded RD-181M for Antares. (3/3)

South Korean Launches on Russian Soyuz and Angara Rockets Also Could Suffer From Sanctions (Source: Space News)
South Korea, at least for now, is pushing forward with two satellite launches this year on Russian rockets, but the missions could be delayed due to Russian sanctions. A South Korean remote sensing satellite is set to launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket. A South Korean satellite equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is slated to launch a Russian Angara rocket. (3/2)

‘Local’ Russian GPS Jamming in Ukraine Hasn’t Affected US Support Ops, So Far (Source: Breaking Defense)
Localized Russian jamming of GPS signals in Ukraine has been detected by US forces in the region, but so far has not interfered with US support operations, according to Pentagon officials. One military source told Breaking Defense that jamming has been detected as far out as the Black Sea by US reconnaissance aircraft, but the source stressed it hasn’t had any impact on mission capability. (3/1)

OneWeb Halts Launches From Baikonur (Source: Space News)
OneWeb is halting launches from Baikonur after Russia imposed severe conditions on them. In a one-sentence statement Thursday, OneWeb said its board "has voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur" but offered no details on contingency plans. The company ordered its staff to leave the spaceport Wednesday after the Russian government demanded that OneWeb's satellites not be used for military applications and that the British government sell its stake in the company. Russian workers at the launch site covered up part of the OneWeb livery on the rocket, including the flags of the United Kingdom and the United States. Sanctions could also affect the delivery of Russian-built electric propulsion systems used on OneWeb's satellites. (3/3)

Rogozin Threatens to Withdraw From ISS (Source: Space News)
The head of Roscosmos again threatened to withdraw from the International Space Station even as NASA says normal operations there continue. Dmitry Rogozin said Russia would "closely monitor the actions of our American partners and, if they continue to be hostile, we will return to the question of the existence of the International Space Station." He emphasized that the station requires Russian systems to maintain its orbit. In contrast, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said this week that operations remain normal on the station with a continued working relationship with all partners, including Russia. One agency adviser, though, recommended that the agency work on contingency plans for ISS operations if those relationships with Russia fray. (3/3)

Satellite Imagery is Useful, But Doesn't Show Russia's Intent (Source: Space News)
Commercial satellite imagery is helping track Russian actions in Ukraine but is less helpful in understanding intent. At an event Wednesday, panelists said there was "unprecedented" sharing of information thanks to the proliferation of commercial imaging satellites. That imagery, they said, can provide information about capabilities, but still can't offer insight into the intent of the forces being tracked. The availability of such imagery may require militaries in the future to engage in "deception operations" to hide their forces from those satellites. (3/3)

South Korea's SIIS Won't Share Satellite Imagery to Assist Ukraine's Defense (Source: Space News)
While many companies are sharing satellite imagery with Ukraine, one South Korean company is not. SI Imaging Services (SIIS) turned down a request from Ukraine's minister of digital transformation to share satellite imagery of Ukraine and neighboring countries. The president of SIIS said the company had no imagery to share with Ukraine since the South Korean government has priority for the four satellites it operates. SIIS was one of eight companies asked by the Ukrainian minister to share imagery of Ukraine with the government. (3/3)

Iranian Rocket Blows Up on Pad? (Source: AP)
An Iranian rocket may have blown up on the launch pad. Satellite imagery showed Iran preparing a Zuljanah satellite launch vehicle at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport, but another commercial satellite image taken Sunday showed a scorched pad and damaged gantry. U.S. Space Command said they did not detect a launch, and analysts suspect the rocket exploded during launch preparations. (3/3)

China's Moon-Crashing Rocket Stage was Supposed to Fall to Earth After Launch (Source: Space News)
Space Command says a Chinese rocket stage suspected of being the object about to hit the moon did not reenter as originally reported. Official Chinese statements and space tracking data from U.S. Space Command had suggested that the upper stage of a Long March 3C rocket that launched Chang'e-5 T1 had already reentered the atmosphere and could not be the rocket debris calculated to hit the moon Friday. However, Space Command now says it can confirm the rocket stage did not deorbit, but can't confirm the identity of the stage about to hit the far side of the moon. Independent satellite observers have linked the stage to that Chinese launch based on its orbit and the color of the object. (3/3)

Skycorp to Test ISS Robotic Power/Data Connector (Source: Space News)
A company plans to soon test on the space station a "USB for space." Skycorp will test a robotic connector developed by Germany's iBoss GmbH to transmit power and data like a computer's USB cable, along with its own computer and a radiation sensor jointly funded by NASA and the Defense Department. The experiment, delivered to the station on a Cygnus cargo spacecraft last month, will be mounted on an external platform on the Japanese Kibo module for a six-month test. Skycorp believes the technology can pave the way for on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing. (3/3)

CAPSTONE Lunar Cubesat Set for May Launch From New Zealand (Source: NASA)
A lunar cubesat mission has a launch date. NASA announced Wednesday the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission will launch between May 3 and 15 on a Rocket Lab Electron from New Zealand. The cubesat will test operations in the near-rectilinear halo orbit that will be used by future Artemis missions. [NASA Ames]

Cesium Astro Raises $60 Million for Developing Phased Array Antennas (Source: Space News)
Cesium Astro has raised $60 million to fund development of phased array antennas. The Series B round was led by Airbus Ventures and Forever Ventures, along with L3Harris Technologies and several existing investors. CesiumAstro has raised nearly $90 million since it was founded in 2017 to develop and manufacture active phased array communications payloads for satellites and airborne platforms. With the latest funding, CesiumAstro plans to expand manufacturing operations, establish offices and accelerate development of satellites built in-house. (3/3)
 
Former Virgin Galactic Chairman Accused of Insider Sale of Shares Worth $315M (Source: Daily Beast)
A Virgin Galactic shareholder’s lawsuit against Chamath Palihapitiya alleges that the former chairman of the space tourism company leveraged his position to sell 10 million shares for $315 million before quitting the board last month. Virgin Galactic began trading in 2019 after it merged with Palihapitiya’s Social Capital Hedosophia. The complaint, filed in federal court, alleges that Virgin Galactic directors and officers had long been aware of defects in their spacecraft before the problems became public knowledge last year. The lawsuit also claims that founder Richard Branson nabbed $301 million by ridding himself of his shares while the stock price was “artificially inflated.” (3/3)