March 6, 2022

Space Command General: ‘I Need a Decision’ on Alabama HQ Move (Source: AL.com)
The U.S. Space Command’s commanding general told Congress this week he needs to know “sooner rather than later” if his command headquarters will be moving to Alabama. “I’ve got to have a decision,” Space Command leader Gen. James Dickinson said. The Air Force decided in 2021 to move the permanent headquarters of the new command and its 1,800-member headquarters staff from their current base in Colorado Springs to a permanent base in Huntsville AL. That decision came after a comparison of Alabama and bases in multiple states on such matters as cost of living, room to expand on the base, security and ability to support the command staff’s needs.

The Pentagon designed the review procedure to prevent interstate fights like the current one between Colorado and Alabama over location of the headquarters. And Air Force documents leaked to AL.com showed Alabama ranked higher than Colorado in 11 of 21 comparisons including available and qualified workforce, nearness to supporting space organizations, room for the giant 464,000 Space Command headquarters building and one-time infrastructure and construction costs.

But former President Trump gave Colorado ammunition for its base decision challenge in 2021 when he told the syndicated Alabama radio show “Rick & Bubba” that he “single-handedly” made the call to move the headquarters to Redstone. Dickinson told Congress this week he just needs a final decision. “Where I see it right now is I’m looking forward to the results and conclusion of both the (Department of Defense) and the (Inspector General) evaluations…,” Dickinson said. (3/4)

Space Force Starts Work on IT Support Contract in Hawaii (Source: Defense News)
Space Force needs IT and other support at its space surveillance complex in Hawaii, so the military branch has kicked off the market research phase in developing a new contract. Responses to the new request for information will help determine if the contract will be a small business set-aside procurement or full-and-open. That RFI says the exact requirements are currently undefined but cover these six six broad areas: executive support, business management support, program management support, financial management support, IT support and civil engineering support. (3/4)

Italy’s Defense Chief of Staff Urges Better Protection of Satellites (Source: Defense News)
Italy must do more to defend its satellites as space becomes a recognized realm for military operations, Italy’s defense chief of staff has said. “It will be essential to render the protection of satellites more robust,” said Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who warned of an “increase in threats” and “a risk for security” in space. Cavo Dragone was speaking at a Feb. 23 seminar in Rome marking the launch of a new report by an Italian think tank, which urged the Italian government to beef up space defense and keep orbital paths clear of debris. (3/4)

Judge Rejects County’s Challenge of Georgia Spaceport Referendum (Source: The Current)
A judge has denied Camden County the relief it sought to invalidate an ongoing referendum related to its planned Spaceport Camden. But that’s not necessarily the end of this election dispute. The judge also authorized an appeal of his order, noting that a vote of this kind may be unprecedented in Georgia. By Friday, almost 2,000 voters had cast a ballot in early voting for the March 8 election. As Judge Stephen Scarlett outlined in his order Friday, “At the heart of this case is the Spaceport Camden project and the County’s purchase of a 4,000-acre tract of of land on which it intends to construct the Spaceport.” (3/4)

SpaceX’s South Texas Starship Factory Prepares for Major Upgrades (Source: Teslarati)
In what is probably a sign of things to come for SpaceX’s nascent Florida Starship factory, the company’s original Starbase facility in South Texas may be about to graduate from tents to more permanent buildings. While SpaceX continues to speed towards the completion of Starbase’s largest and tallest Starship assembly bay yet, the latest news centers around Starbase’s tents. After physically relocating a smaller but still substantial tent believed to be used basic metalwork (laser/water cutting, presses, etc.), SpaceX has rapidly broken ground and partially completed the foundation of a massive, new building believed to be the start of an upgraded Starship factory. (3/4)

Land Rover Is Sending an Owner to Space With Virgin Galactic (Source: C/net)
Land Rover is teaming up with Virgin Galactic for the Adventure of a Lifetime sweepstakes, which will see one lucky Land Rover owner literally fly to space at some point in the near future. Anyone who currently owns a Land Rover can register online by submitting their vehicle's VIN and some other bits of info, which counts as one entry. Placing an order for a new Land Rover nets 50 entries, while actually buying or leasing a vehicle gets you 100 entries. Anyone who enters also gets credit for referring people to the sweepstakes, and there's no limit to how many entries you can get. (3/4)

Musk Says Starlink Won't Block Russian News 'Unless at Gunpoint' (Source: Newsweek)
Elon Musk said Saturday that some governments have asked SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service to block Russian news sources. "Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources," he tweeted. "We will not do so unless at gunpoint," Musk added. "Sorry to be a free speech absolutist." (3/5)

A Little-Known U.S. Spaceport Shoots Into the Big Rocket Scene (Source: Mashable)
Perhaps little-known to the space fans accustomed to rockets blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, or the Central California coast, Wallops Island has been a steadfast force since the waning days of World War II. It began as a small testing range for guided missiles a decade before NASA formed. Today, its bread and butter are sounding rockets (small research rockets that only briefly visit space), drones, and high-altitude scientific balloons that float to the edge of space. Uncrewed cargo missions for the space station, provided by Northrop Grumman, fly from the site about twice a year.

But in the coming years, Wallops will play a greater role in the blooming commercial spaceflight industry. The Virginia site is NASA’s only owned rocket launch range for suborbital and orbital rockets. Over the next eight years, the space agency expects the facility to grow from flying two or three orbital launches per year to over 20. The complex is bracing for the Artemis missions to the moon, which will launch directly to the lunar surface and support astronauts. Through new commercial partnerships, it could even go interplanetary, hosting the first private missions to Venus. (3/5)